Nuclear Fusion
by ringosatou17
Summary: I still never stopped on believing that he'll never do it again. So why now, of all times, did my heart beat faster as if it was about to explode as I looked for him through the rain? COMPLETE.
1. Primary Reaction

_**Nuclear Fusion**_

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><p><strong>Full Summary<strong>:  
>I, Taniyama Mai, would never have thought that the school's cheerful heartthrob Eugene Davis would ever have a reason to attempt suicide. Then again, how much did I really know about the popular exchange student? And what do I do when a helping gesture from me suddenly makes us friends? Well, don't ask me again—it's not as if I can answer that question, myself…<p>

[Slightly inspired by Kagamine Rin's '_Meltdown_'.]

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><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Pairings**: Friendship!GeneMai.

**Genres**: Angst & Hurt/Comfort

**Disclaimer**: I will never own Ghost Hunt, 'kay? All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

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><p><strong><em>Primary Reaction<em>**  
><em>Taniyama Mai + Eugene Davis<em>

* * *

><p><em>Should I dive into<em>  
><em>the nuclear reactor<em>  
><em>I know I can disappear, so I can sleep…<em>  
><em>A morning without me<em>  
><em>Will be much more wonderful than now<em>  
><em>Where everything is in gear<em>  
><em>—<strong>Meltdown<strong>, sung by Kagamine Rin_

It was granted that at every high school in the world, rumors spread like fire on a leaf pile. And let's just say that here, in this humble high school in the middle of Tokyo, there was a new rumor that had me on my toes when I first heard of it.

The popular pretty boy of the school, nineteen-year-old senior Eugene Davis, was currently in the hospital. I wouldn't have minded if I didn't have a crush on the guy. He was my idol the moment he started school here. He was an exchange student from England three years before, and before you could say "John Bull", every girl in the school had heard of him and of his equally stunning twin brother as soon as they had entered and was itching to have them as boy toys. And I was one of those silly, hopeful teenage girls that hoped to be the center of the cheerful Gene Davis's undivided attention. I confess, I was your typical hormone-driven teenager at that time.

Anyways, the Davis twins both look very much alike, but what sets Gene apart from his younger twin Oliver is his optimistic attitude. I've never met Oliver face-to-face before, but from what I've heard from Keiko and Michiru, he's the type of guy who could outclass icicles in coldness. On the other hand, Gene was the exact opposite. He was a dynamic persona in every aspect.

Anyways, because of his extreme popularity, the news of his being rushed to the hospital was instantly relayed around the campus. It was talked about in hallways, narrow corridors, in classrooms, and at the quad at any time of the school day, may it be at recess, or while everyone is at lunch break, or when the dismissal bell rings. Or maybe even while class is going on.

I admired Eugene Davis, of course, but the fact was, couldn't they just shut up about it? And the fact that Oliver was being tightlipped about it made some rumors fan out about it. And it just got worse as it went on.

"I've heard from a classmate of his that Davis-senpai was caught slashing his wrists with a penknife in his room when his mom suddenly walked in and saw him," Michiru told me with a worried tone one morning after the bell rang for dismissal. I shot her an incredulous look as I arranged my books and stuffed them in my desk.

"Are you serious?" I told her flatly. "He's the ace of the soccer team, the rep in his class, the possible valedictorian in his batch (it was a known fact that Oliver and he were at constant loggerheads over the top spot ever since they both started school), a strong candidate for prom king this year, and the most popular student in this school. He's got no reason to even think about suicide."

"Well, that's it, right?" Keiko, at my other side, sighed. "Sometimes, the most popular people tend to commit suicide because of stress. I mean, it happens all too frequently in Hollywood…"

I just kept silent after that. Eugene Davis and suicide? Somehow my mind wasn't even able to comprehend those two things together. Weren't the popular guys supposed to be all cheerful and happy? And Eugene, certainly, was the very epitome of content and happiness for me.

No, this was probably just another rumor. It was unheard of that someone such as Eugene Davis would do such a thing. The school seemed to think he had such a bright future ahead of him.

I convinced myself after a moment. Yes, it was just a stupid rumor, that was all.

…And yet, a week later, after the rumors about Gene trying to take his own life had already developed into its own entity, I saw him one day, before the bell rang for the morning assembly, as he stood in the corridor that housed both of our classrooms, not looking as he always did. He didn't look different, per se—He was still dressed in the same school-law-defiant style, the top buttons of his outer black school uniform undone to expose the immaculate white polo shirt underneath (I would have taken him to be Oliver if he had buttoned them all the way up). His face still had those same breathtakingly perfect features. Nothing seemed out of place with him.

At least, not physically. I just noticed that he appeared to be… rather withdrawn.

There was no charmingly mischievous smile on his lips. There was no strong and confident posture. There was no energetic voice or chipper shout to his friends across the hall. He was just… there.

The hall went nearly silent as most of the students caught sight of the golden boy, and many stared. Gene fidgeted, almost seeming nervous, as he smiled a smile that just reeked of self-consciousness, in comparison to his usual confidence, and told all of the people shamelessly gawking at him (in other words, the whole corridor), "Morning, guys. You can stop staring at my cuteness and go back to your classes now!" which earned him appreciative laughs before he entered his classroom, as if he was trying to seem more positive than he really was. And yet, as he was going out of my line of sight, I couldn't help but peek curiously at his arms.

—His hands were nonchalantly put in his pockets and his uniform covered everything else, so that investigation was out.

* * *

><p>A few days after Gene had returned to school, everything seemed to go back to normal. Gene went back to trying to play the part of his old popular self, and I hate to admit that he was quite good at it. But there were flaws with his acting. His smile would sometimes waver, or he would pause for a moment whenever someone would again ask him where he had gone. However, to the untrained eye, Eugene Davis's performance would be flawless.<p>

But from my everyday glimpses of him whenever he hung out with his friends in the corridors or in the study halls, I could see all of these things. I didn't know why I was suddenly much, much more observant of his actions, more so when you compare it to my past infatuations with him, but I was. I thought that it was because he had done… you know, that. But since it was only speculation, I had nothing to go on. Eugene never outright came out and said that he had tried, and failed, to take his own life. He kept silent whenever a questing somebody would ask why he was gone from school, and no one had thought of pressing him.

However, the days were fast, and the rumors were faster. Soon, all of the people wondering what the hell happened to Gene and he had managed to land himself in the hospital had fabricated stories about what happened. I didn't pay attention to any of those stories, but I was losing my faith in the cheerful front that Gene was bravely keeping up.

I saw him a few more times at school, but we were nothing more than schoolmates passing each other as we went off to our separate ways. Until that one day came, a few days later after his return, wherein I first managed to secure a first conversation with him.

He was goofing off and practicing soccer with his teammates in the field as usual while lunch break was going on, while I was watching him on the side with Keiko and Michiru and getting increasingly edgy as I saw him flawlessly act out the part of the confident jock that the student body had already written up for him, when suddenly, the ball hit me right on my forehead in a smashingly fast strike. And did I mention how hard footballs really are?

"_Mai!_" I heard Michiru scream.

I was thrown off my feet at the impact and pain, and I heard a well-known voice call out to the others about something like… what is it again? I was too disoriented to think about anything else.

"Are you alright, miss?" the voice was suddenly beside me, kind hands helping me sit up groggily as I tried to get my eyes focus clearly again. Then I looked up, and to my surprise, I saw that the person who had been helping me up was none other than—

"D-Davis-senpai?"

I must have taken that ball to my head a bit _too_ hard…

He smiled, a quick flash of true mirth that I hadn't seen him use lately around his friends ever since his comeback, and patted my shoulder bracingly. "Are you okay?" he repeated, smile widening as he stood me back up on wobbly feet. "We'll take you to the nurse's office, alright? I'm sorry, Takeuchi kicked that ball a bit more forcefully than was necessary…"

"I— okay…" I mumbled, consenting to be led away with that warm, kind hand enclosing mine as he guided me to the school, both of us painfully aware that a thousand eyes were watching us curiously, including those of my friends'.

I noticed something that made my heart stop, though.

The jacket sleeve covering his right arm had rode up as he pulled me, and I saw gauze peeking at me from behind the cloth.

_Bandages_.

Moreover, that afternoon was also the same afternoon wherein I heard him being confronted about his suicide attempt for the first time.

It had been usual for me to take my bicycle to school, and when I was about to head for my transport to detach it from its chains, a loud conversation caught my ears. I glanced off to the side to see Gene and some of his soccer teammates by the gate. The tallest boy in the group had his arm looped around the shoulders of the girl beside him, a grin slipping onto his face as he poked Gene playfully in the ribs.

"C'mon, Gene. You can tell us what happened. It's killing us to not know!" he was saying heartily.

The girl (I think she was a cheerleader) that the tall boy was anchored on to was stifling a giggle. It was evident that they were an item. "Maybe you meant that it was killing him."

The rest of the group laughed at the pun, while Gene smiled slightly and fidgeted in obvious discomfort. "It's nothing, guys. Just forget about it," he said with a shrug, trying to cut off the talk.

"But someone told us that you cut your wrists in your bathroom," another girl commented. "Another told us that your mom saw you."

"Where did you hear that?" Gene muttered uncomfortably, his honest eyes faltering as he looked around the expectant faces of his mates.

"From the coach!" exclaimed a boy to his left. Gene's smile wavered, a look of shock momentarily flashing in his blue eyes. I paused from keying in the lock of my bicycle when I noticed how still he got, and how his friends seemed to border on carelessness, all the while not thinking about how sensitive this topic was. Perhaps Gene's mom told his homeroom teacher about what happened and it spread around the faculty, and that's why the teachers all knew of his supposed suicide attempt.

"So is it true?" the tall boy asked.

"Guys…" Gene tried tentatively, with the best smile that he could muster. But I almost felt it as it sank in his heart like a rock.

"Did your mom really find you after having Noll break down the bathroom door?"

"You didn't fight with the paramedics and try to open the window and jump out on the street, did you?"

"I heard they stuck you in the nut house for observation."

"No! There's no way Gene would survive that," laughed another boy, nudging Gene with his elbow. I noticed that Gene had by now gone completely silent. My fingers tightened around the key to the padlock before I turned my heel at the last moment and strode casually over to the group of students who hadn't noticed how pale Eugene had gotten. They only noted my presence when Gene noticed me and looked up, surprise and recognition hovering over his face like a cloud.

Dammit. Was I really going to do this? But then, he smiled warmly, and I was suddenly determined to make him smile like that more often if it killed me. No pun intended.

He was about to say something to me (presumably to ask if my head was feeling better, while I knew that what I was doing was certainly the craziest thing I've ever done) when I interrupted him confidently like a practiced actress.

"Excuse me for intruding, Gene-senpai," I began to lie smoothly, directing my words at Gene, who was looking every bit as surprised as his friends were, "but I just remembered that you had promised my brother that you'll start to tutor me in Chemistry today, and you've also left a soccer ball at my house last week. Maybe you'd better get it before anything happens to it."

Gene blinked quickly at me and I could almost detect the cogs working in his brain to place the pieces in their proper places. While his pack of mindless buddies were still looking absolutely bewildered, he was already smiling with a bemused quirk of his lip and nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, I see," he played along, and I could see that he really deserved to be the batch valedictorian as he quickly bent my white lie to suit his needs. "I nearly forgot, I'm sorry."

"Last week?" his friend asked, shooting Gene a humorous expression of confusion. Gene looked back at him, still with his bright smile. "Wait, you were at her house last week when you were gone? I thought you were in the hos—"

"You're mistaken. Gene-senpai and my brother, who's in college now, had been childhood friends and they caught up with each other's lives last week when my brother returned from Hokkaido," I interrupted calmly. "If I were you, I would ignore the senseless rumors drifting about the school corridors. You can never trust whatever nonsense others can chew out." I looked over towards Gene, who smoothly strode over to my side as if that were the most natural thing in the world.

"Sure. I owe your brother a lot," he said slyly, the double meaning of his words stamped clearly in his tone as we turned to go to the place where my bicycle stood. "See you later, guys?" he called back to his friends, who were still a bit confused over what just happened.

"Uh, yeah, sure," the tall boy said uncertainly. "Just, um, text us later, will ya?"

"I will," Gene said with a laugh, and we quickly walked away.

When we reached my bicycle, which was completely well out of earshot from the others, he smiled at me and said, "Hey. Um…"

"Taniyama Mai. And what was it?" I replied flatly, fumbling with the lock on the chains entwined around my bicycle.

He smiled shyly at me and I suppressed all desire to just faint on the spot. "Thank you. For, you know… that."

I looked away from his grateful eyes and focused back on the damned lock, since the cursed key kept slipping. "Don't mention it."

"No, seriously. What you did was—"

"I said, _don't mention it_."

He looked sheepish. "Er—alright. If you say so."

I blushed furiously. "Um, shouldn't you be going home now?"

"Not right now," he sighed. Then he brightened. "Can I just walk you home, perhaps?"

"Er, n-no!" I stuttered. "That's alright. I also have a bicycle… so…"

"Oh…" He looked so disappointed that I almost went back on my word. "Okay. Taniyama… Mai, right?"

I nodded. "And you're the famous Eugene Davis. As if anyone wouldn't know your name nowadays."

He laughed infectiously, making me grin. "Yeah, well, it's not convenient for everyone to know that now. Why the hell is everyone so prying these days?" His smile vanishing in an instant, he sighed instead and looked down at his feet. I watched him for a few moments, the opened padlock dangling off my left hand as I stayed still.

It was silent once more, Gene unconsciously biting at his lip, as he glanced at me. "Why'd you do that anyway?" he finally asked curiously.

"I believe I said to not mention it," I said firmly. Even I didn't know why I did that. I was aware, after all, that I was going to be questioned and included in this suicide stuff about him (which I had already half-confirmed) as soon as school started again on Monday.

Why did I really do that? Perhaps it was the trapped look on his face? Perhaps it was the sensitivity of the topic? Or perhaps it was because he was still one of my inspirations after all of this? I don't really know, nor did I intend to find out.

"Yeah, but it's weird. You and I are on separate batches, so of course we never talk, and now you help me. I just think that it's natural to ask you why—"

"Would you rather I didn't get involved?" I asked, my blush fading as I stared at him defiantly. He smiled with a bewitching crookedness and shook his head. I smiled back. "I guess that's that then."

"I'm also curious about one thing— How come you haven't asked me about… you know?" he paused. "Everyone else has, but you…"

I stared at him for a moment before smiling blandly at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gene stared at me for a while, before deciding that he liked my answer. He tried his old mischievous grin on, although it wasn't as powerful as it once was, before raising a hand in a mock salute at me. "See you on Monday, then, Taniyama-san."

I wistfully watched him as he walked away, hardly believing at both my good and bad luck. And when he was out of sight, I quickly flung my bag in the front basket of my bike and pedaled away as fast as my skirt would allow me.

* * *

><p>"Hello. Having fun?"<p>

I looked up in annoyance from my Chemistry textbook. I had been trying to study in peace at the library, since we have a quiz and Keiko and Michiru would rather watch the varsity guys playing. "No. Chem is hard." Then, I saw with some surprise that it was Gene.

It had been almost a week ever since that last incident, and while Gene and I occasionally exchanged hellos in the hallways whenever we see each other, we never really went out of our ways just to talk with each other. We just fell back to our usual routines, our paths never brushing. Just like always.

"Chemistry? Hey, that's my best subject last year," he commented. I pouted sullenly.

"Of course. Now, please let me study in peace." I was about to turn back to reading when he suddenly grabbed the book. Taken unawares, I could only stare dumbly as he stared at the lesson that I wad reading.

"Conditions for nuclear fusion," he read out loud. "A substantial energy barrier of electrostatic forces must be overcome before fusion can occur. At large distances two naked nuclei repel one another because of the repulsive electrostatic force between their positively charged protons. If two nuclei can be brought close enough together, however, the electrostatic repulsion can be overcome by the attractive nuclear force, which is stronger at close distances." He looked at me. "Don't tell me you could understand all these scientific gibberish."

"Well—"

"Unless you're Noll reincarnated, that is," he continued, as if I hadn't spoken.

"I—"

"Would you care to have an explanation served up, Eugene Davis style?" he interrupted gaily.

I grimaced. "Okay. I know you're not going to let me rest until you do."

"How right you are, Taniyama-san!" he exclaimed, then proceeded to the lecture. I was quite amused when he took my mechanical pencil and wrote 'G'.

"Let's say that this is Girl. And then, she meets Boy." He wrote a letter 'B' on G's right side. "Well, let's say that they're both nice, helpful, thoughtful, all those boy- and girl-next-door characteristics. Which makes them both positive, in a sense. And let's say that G fell for B." He drew a plus sign between them. "However, B is rich, popular, and smart, while G is just a common girl, or so she thinks.

"So that means that G will have to overcome that factor in order to, as we were saying, enter into a fusion, or relationship in this context, with him."

"Yeah." I was flushed pink as he told me the example situation.

"But you do know the maxim that 'opposites attract', yes?"

"Yup."

"And because 'opposites attract', that'll mean that similar characters repel, yes?"

I nodded. The typical romance novel cliché.

"Let's say that B isn't interested in her not just because they're a mile apart in regard of their status quo, but also because he thinks that a relationship will become a drag after a time if both parties are goody-goodies."

I can quite picture it.

"So what should G do in order to attract B?"

I had the answer already.

"She should find a way to overcome that barrier."

He smiled sweetly. "Quite right. But how?"

I stared at him. "How, indeed…"

* * *

><p>"Really, I should come over at your house and tutor you in Chem," Gene teased me as he caught up with me right after the ringing of the dismissal bell.<p>

"Are you implying that you think that I'm an idiot?" I said with a glare.

"Prettiest idiot I've ever seen, though," he said with a sweet smile, and I mentally smacked myself.

"Aren't you with your friends today, though?"

"Nah, I told them that I'm supposed home earlier today 'coz I have to make up for my missed classes," he shrugged. "Not exactly a lie, either…"

I was about to reply to that, when someone suddenly called out to him. We both looked back, I particularly mutinous as I've presumed that it was another one of Gene's popular, trendy friends. I was cut off, though, when I saw the intruder's face.

His similar blue eyes, straight nose, pale skin, and carelessly combed dark hair was indicative of one thing. That he wasn't one of them.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?"

Gene looked mightily guilty when he saw his twin brother.

"Go on home without me, Noll," he said uncomfortably, attempting to wave him off. The other, Oliver I should think, looked particularly ticked off at his brother's reply.

"Mum's already having kittens over you, you know," Noll snapped. "And I should think that you have to spend some extra effort on your school work because you've—"

"Just go without me? Please?" Gene tried a puppy face at Noll, who immediately looked as if he was very suspicious at the sudden unsheathing of his twin's secret weapon. In other words, a healthy dose of wheedling. "Give me an hour, tops."

Noll turned an icy-blue gaze on me. I tried not to flinch.

"New conquest, huh," he finally said, with a dry tone that I hadn't liked the least bit.

I immediately intervened. "Um, Gene-senpai was supposed to tutor me in my Chemistry today, but if there's—"

"Fine," Noll interrupted me coldly, his coolness upsetting my confidence for a bit. "I don't need another idiot to convince me to let this idiot go." He then shot Gene a glare. "And that's so you, by the way. You're too kind for your own good." And with a controlled expression, he turned on his heel and stalked off, dark hair ruffling slightly in the breeze.

Gene smiled at me. "Shall we?"

"My bicycle—"

"Can seat two," he finished. "Come, you go ride shotgun."

I consented, and after perching myself precariously behind him on my bike, he steered it onto the street and began pedaling at such a quick pace, going even more faster whenever he freewheeled at corners. I pointed out to him where he should turn, and all in all, it was a good ride. I just hoped that I hadn't flashed anyone my panties, though. I was too giddy to care at the moment.

"This is your…"

"Apartment," I told him with a sigh as we stepped in the doorway and removed our shoes. "I live alone."

"Why? Where're your parents?"

"Gone."

"Gone where—? Oh!" Gene blushed like a very normal teenage boy. "I see. I'm sorry for the, um, insensitivity…"

"That's quite alright. It even comes in handy in certain situations. Like right now."

"I see. So that story about your having a brother is a fib too?" he asked me, impressed. "Nice thinking."

"Yeah," I replied self-consciously, proceeding to prepare some tea in the kitchen as he looked around enthusiastically. "You can place your books and stuff on the kotatsu…"

We arranged ourselves on opposite sides of the kotatsu when I finally came with the steaming tea, and he gave me a grateful smile when I handed him a cup.

"Anyways, why are you doing this?" I asked hesitantly, as I opened my book.

"What?"

"Hanging out with me. I mean, I don't think that I'm even interested in your interests…"

"Huh?" He looked up at me innocently, and started to bite the end of his pen.

"Well, in the past, I wouldn't have even imagined you to go and make friends with someone ordinary like me. I mean, you're nice, you're the top athlete in the soccer team, you're smart, and…"

"I don't like it to be labeled like that, actually," he said shortly, his look dropping on the table.

"You don't seem to mind it much before," I said offhandedly.

He blushed. "Depends on which angle you'd look."

"The rumors are changing," I informed him with a sigh. "They're now saying that I was the one who gave you a blood transfusion after that suicide thing."

He looked sorrowfully at me. "Really, Taniyama-san, I'm sorry for involving you."

"I was the one who involved myself," I corrected him.

He gave a weak laugh. "So you did. Well, I guess it's going to be of no use to you now if I do tell you what really happened?"

"Er… if you don't—"

"I don't mind, just don't tell anybody." His face was very grave as he said, "I did try to commit suicide."

I wasn't surprised, so I kept my expression neutral. I had a lot of evidences to support that theory anyway.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked him.

"Because someone like you needs not be misled," he told me simply.

"Then why did you do it?"

"Never mind that. I was just pondering over the idea, and then I got Noll's scissors out from his room, went into my bathroom and did it. Five slices was all it took." He sighed. "If Noll hadn't needed those scissors at that precise moment when I've made the final cut, I wouldn't have been talking to you right now. Contrary to popular belief, it was Noll who found me in the bathroom, since my parents were out that day. The door wasn't even locked. Then he called an ambulance and my Mum just learned of what happened when Noll called them."

I winced. "Then why the bandages?"

"The scars are more horrible than hell. I wouldn't have anyone staring at me whenever they see them." He smiled sadly. "I think I traumatized poor Noll. We both get fidgety whenever anyone says something about cutting or slicing or anything remotely associated with what happened… And yeah, Mum _still_ won't shut up about it."

I didn't remark that those bandages were more likely to throw suspicious glances at him.

Then, with a sudden smile which unsettled me, he said, "Shall we start?"

"Er… okay," I said uncertainly. Evidently, he wasn't talking about it.

"Well, starting from where we've left off…"

The little study session was quick, easy, and quite intelligible even for me, who was a hardcore science flunker. I was quite impressed at how easily he seemed to explain complicated words, and by the end of the hour, I was beginning to get an inkling of the lesson.

The thing that quite marred my little moment of sheer happiness was the bandages that kept showing whenever Gene wrote something or whenever his sleeve rides up. Frankly, I can't stop thinking about why he decided to kill himself when he was one of the luckiest people alive.

I also realized something when the lesson had ended.

That Gene's relationship with me, given his troubles, might as well be the exact circumstances present in a nuclear fusion. And that means that if I truly wanted to help him, then that means that I have to do something to break that barrier between us.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

Planning this to be an extremely wordy four-shot. Don't curse me, 'coz I know you all like your stories long.

* * *

><p><strong>Give a poor writer an excuse to update. Review!<strong>


	2. Secondary Reaction

_**Nuclear Fusion**_

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Pairings**: Friendship!GeneMai.

**Genres**: Angst & Hurt/Comfort

**Disclaimer**: I will never own Ghost Hunt, 'kay? All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Secondary Reaction<em>**  
><em>Taniyama Mai + Oliver Davis<em>  
><em>[<strong>Catalyst<strong>: Eugene Davis]_

* * *

><p><em>So I sing and I shout…<em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene<em>  
><em>I scream without knowing the reason why…<em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene<em>  
><em>Can you be satisfied with the way things are?<em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene<em>  
><em>Might you change if you tore free from all these rules?<em>  
><em>—<strong>Paradichlorobenzene<strong>, sung by Kagamine Len_

I was just chilling out in the corridor where my classroom was located, waiting for nobody in particular, when Gene spotted me and broke away from the gaggle of fangirls surrounding him to greet me.

"Hi," was his breathless statement.

"Hi," I echoed back, distastefully eying the girls that he had left—they were all shooting me annoyed and envious looks. "What now?"

"Well, I want to apologize in advance but I think I can't go to our tutor session for today," he said with a truly apologetic look. I felt a swell of disappointment in my chest.

"What? Why?"

"I'm expected to be somewhere else today, and they'll go ballistic on me if I ditch them… and besides, I've asked—no, convinced Noll to take my place. He'll be a better teacher."

"What!" I exclaimed. I had been quite afraid and rather irritated of Noll's standoffish attitude ever since we first met. "But—!"

"Come on, just this once? I promise you'll never have to be forced to be alone with him after this afternoon."

Did he just read my mind? Ugh.

He gave me a quick smile and a fleeting look before hurrying away from the girls.

I was busy feeling disappointed when the apparent leader of those fangirls rounded on me.

"Ne. What are you to Davis-san?" she demanded quite suddenly, tossing her dyed brown hair back over her shoulder. I stared back at her.

"What?" I asked blankly.

"You must've known something we don't. Otherwise, why'd he even waste his time talking to you?"

"Well, you're mistaken," I said coldly. "And if I do know something about him that you didn't, what's the problem? I mean, it's not even your business…"

"Gene's business is the whole school's business," the girl said arrogantly. I was instantly incensed.

"And why is that?" I replied venomously. "Gene is not the school's toy! He's a living, breathing, genuine human being that sometimes gets fed up because of people who stick firmly with the status quo! People like you!" I crossed my arms. "If he has to deal with you girls all the time, maybe I would even help him kill himself. Just saying." And with those triumphant words, I turned on my heel and strode down the end of the corridor, turning to the hallway to the right just to find myself running smack onto Oliver Davis.

"Erm…?" I was flabbergasted. And a bit embarrassed. Maybe he heard me answering back to my seniors—?

"Follow me," were the only two words that escaped his lips, and with a foreboding seems of doom, I dared not disobey, and grudgingly went after him.

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" I protested as we broke out into the chilly winter air.<p>

He didn't even grace me with a look, but instead just walked faster. "Will you just shut up and do as I say?"

He led me to as far as the grade school building, where he whirled at me and stared with intense blue eyes. I flinched under his gaze, making him scowl.

"Gene asked me to tutor you in Chemistry," he finally said. I was relived that he hadn't brought the subject up.

"Yes, he told me," I said feebly.

"Well, Taniyama-san (he sounded as if he didn't like my name at all, which made me grit my teeth), can you please give me a valid reason as to why I should?"

"Um, because I suck at it?"

He scoffed. "You said it."

It made me send an unfriendly look at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he said blandly, and I finally decided that he wasn't the least bit cute. "I shall await you at dismissal then, Taniyama-san. Take care that you see me at my classroom. And in case that you don't know where my classroom is, it's just right beside yours." And giving me a highly bemused glance, he stalked off, unluckily immune to all my dagger glares.

Why can't he be nice to me? At least just for Gene's sake? Grr, he drives me mad!

* * *

><p>"You're going where?" Michiru looked as if she couldn't believe her ears. "But—but that's the lion's den!"<p>

We were grouped around my desk and talking about every triviality in our lives right after the ringing of the dismissal bell, until the subject suddenly switched to my dilemma. In other words, Oliver Davis's sudden role as my Chem tutor.

"To Oliver-senpai's classroom," I sighed. "I know, right?" Sooo, if Gene was a cat, would that really designate Noll as the lion? Hmm… Rats, I forgot that he was English…

"No way, are you really that brave to face him?" Keiko said with a look that made my courage shrivel up. "I mean, he was…"

"I must," I sighed, gathering heart. "If I wanted to pass that Chemistry exam next week, I must."

"Ganbatte," Michiru told me with a sigh as they waved me off. "I hope you make it out alive."

I waved back at them and bravely made my way to the fourth-year classroom directly beside mine. If I was correct, class… B?

But before I could even peek past the open doorway, a short girl with her dark hair cut in a bob and with delicate china doll-like features stepped out of the room, then glanced at me with a nonchalant air. I immediately recognized her as Hara Masako, another one of the popular faces in the campus because of her prettiness and her status as the only heiress of an extremely wealthy family. She was in the same year as me, though, so I wondered what she could have been doing in a fourth-year classroom.

She was staring at me with something like irritation, so I felt obliged to speak up and greet her.

"Konnichiwa, Hara-san."

She narrowed her deep brown eyes and tossed her head before ignoring my greeting and strolling off. I sighed at this and finally looked into the classroom. He was seated by the window, reading a book, and as if by instinct, looked up and saw me. Or maybe that term was inaccurate. He literally met my eyes.

He gestured for me to come in, so I timidly wove my way through some of the seniors gathered in my path and stood by him. He looked much less severe without the forbidding look that he had before, though. He just looked sort of expressionless and rather calm.

Truth be told, he looked nothing short of stunning. Compared to Gene's casual, windswept look, Oliver's imperturbable neatness reminded me of a kind of classical, unruffled elegance that I thought only belonged to photos in fashion magazines, frozen in time and unchanging under glossy paper. I again asked the gods what this extreme good fortune could mean, and secretly thought that he must be more at home in the most formal of clothes, and wear them beautifully. Gene was more of a free spirit, so I think he'll be stifled in formal settings. Maybe that's why he always lets the first buttons of his uniform unbuttoned.

"Will you please stop gawking at me?" he suddenly said, making me start and blink at him like an idiot that he so obviously thought I was.

"Er, are we going?" I asked tentatively.

"We should," he said coldly, shutting his book with a snap. "Let's get this over with. And quickly."

Ugh. He must be spoiled rotten by his parents. As long as he doesn't open his mouth and go on looking his best, though, I'm content.

* * *

><p>"You're on what lesson now?" he asked me as we sat opposite each other in the school library. I would have preferred the familiarity of the quad, but I decided that Oliver was far too unfriendly to even suggest that idea to him.<p>

"Rates of reactions," I answered. "Effects of a catalyst on reactions, to be more exact."

"Hm," was his remark, which I read as a sound of disbelief at my incompetence. "Well, what do you know about this subject so far?"

"Well, I do know that catalysts speed up chemical reactions…"

"That's right," he nodded. "For example, you can use palladium to speed up a reaction between carbon monoxide and oxygen. If you balance the equation—" He wrote said equation on a piece of paper and made me balance it (I was quite nervous at the sudden task, but balanced it quickly), before taking it back and teaching me how catalysts work.

He was such a straightforward guy compared to Gene. But I do admit that he's good at this academic stuff. I could understand most of the lesson by the time he shut the book and stared expressionlessly at me, a perfect picture of tranquillity made by an extremely artistic deity.

"Ehem…" I cleared my throat expectantly as he continued to stare at me with wonderfully dark blue eyes.

He blinked two times in quick succession, his long eyelashes as light as feathers, and said neutrally, "You're now friends with my brother, aren't you?"

Huh? That was the most out-of-the-blue question that I've ever been presented with…

"I guess you could look at it that way," I answered cautiously. He tapped his pen calmly on the table as he continued to watch me, the icy upturn of his brows making me sweat it.

"Well, I've seen most of his friends," was Oliver's serious reply. "And if you were a bit more brighter than I've taken you to be, you might've noticed that not one of them has brains enough to fill a Chinese teacup. And trust me, they're the smallest teacups in my mother's collection."

"Oh, I see," I said rather waspishly. He made me feel as if I were a grade school student. "I think I understand what you were trying to imply."

"Good." He stood up and brushed off imaginary dust from his slacks before bowing slightly at me. "Then, Taniyama-san, could I expect you to be at least one notch more sensitive compared to those morons who call themselves my brother's friends?" His blue eyes flashed. "Gene may have been a lot of things before, but now that he's destroyed everything with a single stupid—" He caught himself at the last syllable and swallowed visibly, his gaze dropping to the floor as without another word, he strolled off, his Advanced Algebra book safely under his arm.

The glass doors of the library closed after him.

I watched his retreating figure wonderingly, while musing at the fact that while Oliver seems to be content to stand in his brother's shadow, that doesn't dampen the strength of his presence any one bit.

* * *

><p>"So what really happened?" Gene asked me the next morning, which was a Saturday. He had called me out of the blue and we met up in front of Shibuya 109. And now, we were loafing in the nearest park, my eyes turned to the iron-gray sky as I sat on the swing and he amiably pushed me.<p>

I gave him a sour look and planted my feet on the ground, accidentally making stones fly as he pushed me again and made my boots skid on the hard, snowy ground. He paused when he noticed that I had been trying to stop my ascent.

"Well, Mai-san?" Yup, we had already progressed to first-name terms as the winter had progressed, the suffix "-san" added onto my first name his way of giving me a sort of mixed familiarity and respect. He drops the honorific, though, when he wants to annoy me, or whenever he shows off his playfulness.

"He's a jerk," were the words that came out of my mouth.

"Oops," he said apologetically. "I did remind him to go a bit easy on you…"

"No, he was an easy teacher," I sighed. "My problem with him was his personality. He's… he's…"

"So sarcastic that calling him rude won't even cut it?" Gene supplied.

I nodded.

"That's Noll," he answered simply.

"I think he doesn't like me," I mused. "And he didn't say it, but he seemed to be curious as to why we hang out all the time ever since that incident. He might've harassed me directly if it was in his book, but luckily, he didn't."

"I see," Gene frowned. Then he brightened. "But I do think that he doesn't think of you as bad either."

"Hah. That was a laugh and a half." I moodily kicked a piece of gravel on the ground and watched it fly.

"Seriously. If he hadn't taken a liking to you, he must've just ignored you and not bother playing the bad guy at all." He playfully draped himself over my back and started talking into my ear. "Know Hara Masako?"

"The real question should've been, who doesn't?" I shot back, pushing him away, and he cheerfully acquiesced by gracefully stepping back a few more feet from me. "I mean, she's got to be the only unanimous celebrity in my batch…"

"Yeah? Well, she's gone around to coming at my house 'coz of my little Noll-chan." He occupied the swing beside me and turned his head to look at me, bright blue eyes shining. "And of course, neither one of us is stupid enough to not know that she fancies him."

"Er," I muttered feebly. "It's got nothi—"

"But you know what?" Gene interrupted me suddenly. It was a bad habit of his that constantly annoyed me, a remnant of his popularity that constantly irked my polite side. "Noll doesn't even pay any attention to her. I end up as the one doing all the chatting up."

"Really? I couldn't think of how anyone could turn down Hara Masako," I said with a dubious frown, and Gene smiled.

"Come on, Noll is really particular in his tastes," Gene said cheerfully. I think he was poking a bit of fun at me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "And while Hara Masako is most people's type of girl, Noll isn't most people, you know."

"Huh. I wonder why," I mumbled dolefully.

He rumpled his hair exasperatedly, the mannerism lending him his famous look, that of excessive carelessness without overdoing anything. "Ah, that is the mystery, isn't it?"

"I think I'll rename him because of his attitude," I suddenly decided. "Turning down girls who like him… and not even caring if they look up to him? Well, isn't that like Narcissus?"

Gene whistled merrily. "You learned your Greek mythology, Mai-san. Frankly, I'm impressed."

"Shut it."

"Then, wouldn't we normally call him narcissistic?" he continued, smiling widely at me as he pushed off his feet against the ground to get his swing moving. He had already swung for a few moments before I had come up with a reply.

"I'll call him narcissistic Naru-chan, then," I said decisively, and we both laughed, the sound of our merriment piercing the clear air.

As our laughter died down and a comfortable silence ensued, I then decided that I loved doing this with him. He was such a comfortable guy.

* * *

><p>Time flew fast, and spring practically made us all stand on our toes as the four year levels of the high school department breathlessly prepared for the annual foundation festival held every January. To the seniors, it meant that this will be the last time that they'll ever celebrate the festival as bonafide high school students, so it wasn't surprising that they prepared the most extravagant and flashy displays.<p>

Of course, Gene was part of the graduating class, so the pressure of the festival left no vacancy on his already cluttered schedule to even think of persisting to teach me Chemistry during this period. However, knowing that it was inevitable, I concentrated really well on my studies and so managed to rise over my ever-present mud pool of C minuses by the time the actual day arrived.

The festival was held in a day so nice that I could hardly bear remaining inside the campus, instead opting to walk through the milling crowds in the quad to savor the sweet air. The sky was blue, blue, blue… And yeah, it was totally cliché in a very nice way. Maybe the prayers that I said last evening took effect. I dunno.

Anyways, to cut the long story short, I did what normal students do best on festivals: I squandered a quarter of my last paycheck on the festival. Well, it only happens about once every academic year, so why not… Besides, all the proceeds will go to the scholars of the PTA. It's not as if I was recklessly throwing away money here. I am a working student, after all.

Well, the main attraction of the day was really the culminating program that we were holding in the auditorium at the end of the day. And in turn, the main attraction in it was the intermission number by the Davis twins. Yeah, people just can't seem to get tired of marveling at twins (plus points if they're identical!), so they really were the novelty. And the mysterious Oliver was also going to expose himself in the limelight for once, so it was a double eye candy treat. Although, maybe Gene dragged his twin into it for maximum brotherly participation. Or maybe he was psychic, read my thoughts, and was humoring my desire to see Oliver more often in the public eye. I can't decide which of them was the correct answer, though.

I was not really surprised at the theme of the song that Gene chose to sing for the culminating program. Maybe it had been one whole season since "it" happened, but I somehow knew that the scar that "it" left was still prominent on his person. But you know what? Unlike the majority of the student population, I don't think that his attempted suicide can affect my image of him as that perpetually smiling guy who can be quite the introvert at times. Really, I was more surprised by the mere fact that he chose a VOCALOID song and a fast one at that, but that was beside the point.

"_For what do I sing? _  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>I just sing without understanding why… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>Yes, I ran, seeking the answers… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>Though I knew there was nothing out there for me to reach<em>…"

His singing voice was to die for, I'll give you that. The lyrics were a bit on the abstract side, but his playing and singing was enough to drive fangirls wild. Er, myself included, although unlike the others, I could see his true intention in singing that song out of countless others in front of the whole student body.

"_So let's sing, let's dance… _  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>So let's scream, let's shout… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>Dogs, cat, cows, pigs, everyone… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>So let's go mad, let's fall asleep<em>  
><em>Until we fall apart...!<em>

"_I hate rules, I just don't want to be held down _  
><em>So I run away, forgetting everything around me <em>  
><em>I hate to be told what to do <em>  
><em>I want to be a little wicked <em>  
><em>I slip out of my house in the middle of the night <em>  
><em>And run through the town <em>  
><em>'Why am I alive? What's my purpose?' I asked a stray cat <em>  
><em>The cat said nothing in reply, <em>  
><em>Just looked at me through spiteful eyes <em>  
><em>I drank up some coffee that I couldn't stand to drink <em>  
><em>And looked up at the clouded sky <em>  
><em>'What am I capable of right now?' <em>  
><em>I don't even know that much…<em>"

Ah, his true intentions. Even Naru-chan (hehe), who was accompanying him on the keyboard, had his eyebrows drawn together in an expression of concentration as he quickly breezed through the chords, Gene's voice never tripping once on the insane speed of the song. I admired him for that. Could you say paradichlorobenzene in Japanese without twisting the letters? And at the speed that Gene was singing those lines? I can't.

"_So I sing and I shout… _  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>I scream without knowing the reason why… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>Can you be satisfied with the way things are? <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>Might you change if you tore free from all these rules?<em>"

Maybe you'd have seen the way that he was looking all around the audience as he sang those last verses if you'd been next to me in that crowded auditorium. Challenging them subtly. Challenging the status quo wholeheartedly like a battering ram.

Yeah, I love his voice, but I've fallen in love with his message. There's a world of difference between those two terms.

"_Yes, I'd like to spill my guts to someone, anyone… _  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>I'll wield justice in the fight against evil… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>With justice as shield my stress melts away… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene <em>  
><em>As we stop wandering we don't realize… <em>  
><em>Our foolish deeds…!<em>"

His eyes were blazing as he belted out the few next verses, the guitar that he was playing restless under his grasp as the last chorus drew near. Gene sang the final lines:

"_So let's sing, let's dance… _  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene!<em>  
><em>So let's laugh, let's covet… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene!<em>  
><em>You and me and everything… <em>  
><em>Paradichlorobenzene!<em>  
><em>So let's go mad, let's fall asleep <em>  
><em>Until we fall apart...!<em>"

The last chords were marvelously done, and the applause was deafening as they left the stage. Gene was smiling like his old self, a fact that I instantly noticed. And yet, did you know another thing that I noticed when they finished the number?

…Naru-chan had met my eyes once again when he left the stage. Ugh… why did I have to blush so hard? I thought I was crushing more on his twin?

Damn Gene, you catalytic trickster.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

A plot twist for Christmas, guys! Merry Christmas!

Yay. Finally finished churning out this chapter! It's fun whenever I get to pick a title for every chapter I write. :)

A note of interest: Paradichlorobenzene is a chemical used as substitute for the naphthalene in mothballs. Needless to say, it's rather fatal when ingested.

I noticed that the Kagamine twins of VOCALOID get the most of those chemistry-based songs… *sigh* Twins…

Yeah, Chemistry was my best subject in my third year. It's loads easier than Physics. Hurhur.

Also, this chapter focused more on Naru and Mai because I was kinda building up on the pairing. Heehee. Next chapter we'll have all the tension and stuff between the twins.

* * *

><p><strong>Give a poor writer an excuse to update. Review!<strong>


	3. Tertiary Reaction

**_Nuclear Fusion_**

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Pairings**: Friendship!GeneMai and a generous dash of NaruMai. _SQUEEEE_!

**Genres**: Angst & Hurt/Comfort

**Disclaimer**: I will never own Ghost Hunt, 'kay? All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Tertiary Reaction<em>**  
><em>Eugene Davis + Oliver Davis<em>  
><em>[<strong>heat<strong> is applied]_

* * *

><p><em>Without understanding anything, <em>  
><em>you run through the town at night <em>  
><em>Without saying anything to you, <em>  
><em>I merely keep on watching<em>  
><em>—<strong>Antichlorobenzene<strong>, sung by Kagamine Rin_

This year's spring was unusually chilly, the pouring rain pounding the pavement as I walked to school with an umbrella protectively held over my head. The sky was dark, while the cherry trees were laden with bronze-tinged leaves and awaiting the heat of summer.

Gene was standing casually beside the school gates, a black umbrella steadied on his shoulder and a dark blue scarf knotted loosely at his pale throat. He casually caught my arm when I approached and stood beside him, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"What are you doing, standing out here like an idiot?" I asked acidly, my left arm intertwined with his right as we walked together to the school with an amiable atmosphere.

"I was waiting for you," he declared, rather too happily for my taste.

"And why is that?"

"'Coz I have something to ask you."

"That must have been an emergency so urgent that you couldn't wait to see me," I said sarcastically. He just nodded enthusiastically as we finally entered the entrance hall and deposited our umbrellas on the stand. His tendency to become dense at times (his fangirls can call it innocence, but I know better) made me sigh, since he can be the most perceptive angel one moment and the most clueless idiot the next. It was another thing that set him apart from Oliver. I sensed that Oliver may seem like the most unconcerned guy all the time, but he is actually the more sensible person to talk with. Wait, what was I thinking, talking about him like that?

"Well, it is sort of like an emergency for me," he laughed. "You do know that the prom is going to be held February fourteenth, right?"

"Yeah," I said disinterestedly, being all like, Yeah, Valentines Day… so what? But of course he didn't sense my discomfort. Or he simply chose to ignore it. "Why?"

"Do you already have a date?" he suddenly asked. I paused from the act of taking out my _uwabaki_ slippers from their locker and swiveled around to look him in the eye. He didn't seem to get unfazed, though. He even cracked a smile at me.

"Maybe you're forgetting that I'm a junior," I told him flatly. "Juniors can't go unless seniors ask them to."

"Then listen to me first!" he said with an ominously bright air. "I was thinking that you might want to go with Noll, you see."

I was too shocked with what he had just said that I forgot to throw my shoes at him. I stood there with a wooden face until he tentatively raised a hand and hesitantly waved it before my face with a worried expression. With a blink, I snapped out of it and threw him a dirty look. He laughed.

"So let me guess—you're now hitting on me so that you can get your brother a date?" I said disbelievingly as I finally finished putting on my _uwabaki_ and waited for him to put his on, after which he then smilingly accompanied me out of the entrance hall and up onto the staircase. "Wait—does he even have an idea about this?"

"Hey, that's not nice," he chided me with a mock pout. "I just wanted him to attend too. Last year, he skipped out and hung out with his books like a regular hermit. I'm just getting him a life. I mean, for Pete's sake, he's a _high schooler_. And isn't the highlight of every high schooler's life the prom?"

I scowled at him dubiously. "Really, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you're just nosing on a business that you'd do better without."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and smirked smugly. "Then Noll must be grateful that I'm even bothering to nose in his. I have the nicer nose."

I shoved him playfully. "Really, sir, maybe I should remind you that you two are identical twins." Honestly… Naru-chan might be the narcissistic one among the Davis twins, but that doesn't mean that Gene hadn't his own fair share of vanity.

"But wouldn't you really?" he asked anxiously as we finally reached the door of my classroom. I stepped in the doorway and turned around to give him a cursory glance. Bad choice—he looked so irresistibly hopeful that I blurted out—

"I'll think about it."

"Alright!" he whooped cheerfully, doing a fist pump and making the girls in my classroom, who had all been watching with envious looks as I chatted with him, squeal. As a result, I hurriedly sent the grinning Gene away with a flea on his ear.

When I finally turned around to look at my classmates, they all looked at each other and smiled at me.

"Nice one, Taniyama-kun," the class president teased me.

So. _Not_. Fair.

* * *

><p>The week after that, Gene had a psychic fit and divined that I might have nothing suitable to wear to the prom, so he promptly showed up that Saturday at my doorstep with a tub of chocolate ice cream and a highly mischievous look in his eyes. Unfortunately, I had Keiko and Michiru in the living room at the exact same moment, and they both looked up from the television to watch us with wide eyes.<p>

"What's this?" I asked him sourly as he made a Cheshire Cat face at me. "Peace offering? You've done nothing to annoy me… yet."

"Nice try, Mademoiselle, but it's actually ice cream," he quipped as I stepped aside and let him enter. He flashed his trademark smile at my two friends (Keiko went scarlet, while Michiru's eyes widened even more) before quickly making himself comfortable on my divan. I didn't remark about it, though.

"Ha ha, funny," I returned as he took off his coat and cap and placed it neatly beside him. "What were you doing here, anyway?"

"Actually, I was sent by your prince charming with the message that I should give his Cinderella the nicest clothes that we could afford," he said with a smile, his statement making Keiko and Michiru squeal.

"Really, Mai, why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't even actually agree yet!" I protested. Gene was unperturbed by my complaints, though. "And how did you even know?"

"A little bird told me," he said, straight-faced. "No, really, I just thought about it and deduced that a girl couldn't afford to have a prom dress if she's living alone and working part-time, right?"

"Are you making fun of my poverty?" I sulked. "And here I was thinking that you're my friend."

He laughed.

"No, I was just admiring all the hard work that you've gone through," he said bracingly. "Wouldn't you let up and let me get something for you, though?"

"No," I said with a pout. He immediately changed tactics.

"Come, I even commissioned my Mum, and you know how angry she was with me," he said without an ounce of tact. I immediately threw him the nearest object that I could lay my hands on, which was my mobile. He easily caught it though, and watched me amusedly. However, I was madder than ever.

"You even called your mother over?" I screeched. "How inconsiderate of you, Eugene Davis!"

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed breathlessly as I let loose at him a stray pen lying on the table. He again caught the projectile, making me glare at him in submission. I forgot that he was a varsity player and had near-perfect reflexes. Ugh. "But can you please humor us Davises just this one time? Mum was absolutely thrilled when I asked her… Of course, I had Noll help me a bit…"

I engaged him into a staring war, which he promptly won (he seemed to have a penchant for staring people down, a trait that his twin shared). With a sigh, I rolled my eyes and threw up my arms in defeat.

"Fine, I'll play along, but remind me to kill you after this, you cunning, scheming, little—"

"Alright, alright," he said hastily, and smirked. "Now, will you please go and dress in something more suitable for the weather outside? Mum can't be there all day…"

After Keiko and Michiru had smilingly left my apartment (they traitorously left me to the mercy of this idiot), Gene amicably drove me to Shibuya, which was, in my opinion, the Las Vegas of Japan once night steals over the city. In the daytime, though, it looked innocuous and pretty enough, which did not alleviate my nerves as I stood with shaking legs before the shop where Gene stopped the car. The fact that Gene drove like someone being chased by demons did not help, either.

"You are not driving me anywhere ever again," I ground out as he walked over to me with an extremely pleased expression. He rolled his eyes when he heard my statement, though.

"Wait until you experience Noll's driving," he said with a laugh. "Let's just say that the speed of my driving is old pie alongside his. And this is Japan, Mai. Everyone's expected to drive fast."

I snorted in disbelief as we walked in the shop, where we were met with a blonde whom I was almost immediately sure was Eugene's mother.

"Gene!" she greeted him a tad too enthusiastically, her eyes shifting from her son's uncomfortable ones to mine. I immediately tensed up as she raked me with her eyes. "And this is her, I presume?"

"This is Taniyama Mai, Mum. I had told you quite a bit about her," Gene said curtly, eyes turning to look behind his mother. With an unpleasant jolt, I saw that Naru was standing by the light streaming through the shop window, reading a book. When Gene mentioned my name, however, he looked up and met my gaze with a curious glance. I wonder how he had reacted when he found out that Gene had played matchmaker for both of us?

"I see," Gene's mother cheerfully said. She happily led me to the racks. "Well, I'm Luella Davis, and it's been nice to meet you at last. Gene's told me about how you've helped him in coping up with those nasty rumors back at school about that, you know, incident…"—I noticed how her eyes glanced at Gene and back to mine with just the lapse of a second—"and I'm really thankful for that. Kids at school can sometimes be too prying, after all."

"I know that only too well," I managed to reply weakly, making her beam.

"Come, dear. So Noll has finally gathered enough guts to ask a girl to come with him to prom, hasn't he?" And Luella, blissfully oblivious to how her younger son glared pointedly at her elder son, let me pick a selection of dresses. I was quite overwhelmed with the staggering amounts of lacy lace and silky silk that was put before me, and started to sift through the clothes in a sort of daze, while Luella chatted blithely on about her sons. I was frankly amused by the outrageous things that she told me about them, and more so with the twins' reactions whenever she exposes something embarrassing about them. There was a forced cheerfulness in her words whenever she mentions Gene, though, and I instantly knew that she still had the suicide incident firmly in her head.

"Gene, what about your Algebra? Matsumoto-san told me about your worsening performance. If you keep that up, Noll might just snag the top position from under your feet…"

"Mum," the twins said in unison with the same tone of exasperation, and I found the effect to be very charming. "I don't want to be pitted against Noll again, you know," Gene then proceeded to say, while Naru didn't say anything more but watched Luella with blank eyes.

"Shall we try on those clothes that you've chosen?" Luella gushed at me enthusiastically, acting as if she hadn't heard Gene, and I distinctly heard the elder Davis twin sigh exasperatedly as she marched me into the fitting rooms. "Honestly, you're the first girl that I'll ever do shopping with… Frankly, I've never liked any of the girls that Gene has brought home before… they just seemed too made-up… Luckily, Noll's got simpler and better taste. I'm starting to feel that we'll get to have a lot in common…"

Gene hummed loudly as though to block the sound of his mother's voice, and I recognized it as five bars from Antichlorobenzene. At the same time, I heard another sigh from the window, and instantly knew that this time, it was Naru who'd sighed.

When we finished shopping (I had guiltily picked out a white dress that fell above my knees with matching shoes and accessories, so I felt somewhat like a pseudo-bride), Luella invited me over for tea in their house. Since I was a bit taken with her, I accepted the invitation (albeit reluctantly) and she whisked us all off to their house. Frankly, I had not anticipated this, but since I'm a true Japanese girl, that means I have to do this thing right even if I don't know how. I mean, that's the true samurai spirit—or something.

Ugh, maybe that's why my ancestors invented _seppuku_, you know?

The Davis house was nice and very neat, with real doorsteps leading to the actual doorway. Luella bade us all to make ourselves comfortable in the living room while she made us tea and—

"Maybe we'll have some lemon bars," she said, her tone rather a bit more energetic than was necessary to announce what she was planning to serve to a guest. "I'll be back in thirty minutes, so why don't you show her around the house?"

"Don't worry about the lemon bars," Gene immediately told me in a confidential manner the exact moment his mother disappeared into the kitchen. "You don't have to actually eat them…"

"And last time I checked, we don't even have lemons in the kitchen when I was looking for some," Naru said with a sigh, uncharacteristically playing the role of the straight man. And he wasn't even trying to be funny. "So I don't think she'll actually serve us those things."

Gene laughed at what serious Naru had just confided in us. "I didn't realize that one. Come, Mai-san, I'll show you the pool way back," he said with a grin, immediately standing up from the couch. "Wanna come, Noll?"

"I'd rather not," Naru replied, this time with a scowl. He held up the book that he was reading until now, and taking that as a valid excuse, Gene immediately pulled me to my feet and we rushed through the house, the carpet (yeah, an actual one) muffling our steps.

"There's the pool," he said as we broke out from the back of their house and into their backyard. "It's covered at this time of year, though."

We just decided to walk around the yard, and I noticed how pleasantly peaceful their neighborhood was. When I noted that fact, Gene wrinkled his nose and smiled.

"Yeah," he quipped. "The most interesting thing that must have happened in this neighborhood for a decade was my suicide attempt. You must've seen them rush out of their houses when they heard the ambulance arrive."

"Don't even joke about it," I told him severely.

He just smiled. "Wait, I should get something to get that pool cover off…"

"We aren't really going to swim, are we?" I asked him dubiously.

"Silly. It's too cold," he laughed. "But we can sit on the edge and dip our feet in."

He came after a long while with some scissors, with which he cut the ropes binding the tarpaulin cover. He then proceeded to get off the cover from a section of the pool and we dangled our legs in, the coolness of the water just right. He had rolled his jeans up to his knees.

"Thank you for those clothes," I immediately told him as we sat in utter silence.

"No problem," he said. "I promised Mum I'd pay for them out of my allowance, though."

I grimaced. "How much do you think those things are worth, though?"

"Don't even think about it," he warned me, and I gulped as I thought about the mere amount.

"Well, just see what you two'll be like at the fourteenth," he said gaily. "You'd look like some kind of chess piece. You're white—Noll's black. Really, are you soul mates or what?"

"No way," I rolled my eyes.

He smirked mischievously, and trying to ignore the fact, I quickly changed the topic.

"Gene? Mai?" I heard Luella call us some time later, her voice nearing us before she finally emerged into the backyard to see us two sitting by the edge of the pool with our legs in the water and chatting away like two very old friends. "The tea things are ready… I baked some brownies instead. Silly me, I forgot that Martin has finished up our lemon supply… Dear, what was that you're holding?" she suddenly added, her smile tightening and her eyes narrowing as she espied the scissors that was forgotten on Gene's lap.

With a nervous smile, Gene quickly turned over the object to his mother, whose expression instantly relaxed when she felt the texture of the scissors' rubber handles against her palm. "Thank you, Gene. Well, could we possibly have some tea now? I've already sliced the brownies up and laid them on the counter, so that you guys won't have to worry about cutting them yourselves."

I just noticed how Gene winced when Luella mentioned the words "slicing" and "cutting", but tactfully stayed silent. Now, I just realized how serious Gene's family issues are. Luella cutting up the brownies herself might just have been a thoughtful gesture in itself if the situation was normal, but in this context, she was subtly reminding her son that he's not even allowed to get in near proximity of anything sharp.

I took a brownie at the counter upon Luella's urging, but Gene seemed to have lost his appetite and was content to drink his tea without anything. Naru had dumped some milk in his cup before pouring out his tea, though, and I decided against trying to make forced conversation with him as Luella arrived and made sure that we were all well-seated before disappearing upstairs. I was puzzled about the fact that Gene seemed to have been deprived of his own teaspoon and fork (it amused me when Naru dispassionately lent his teaspoon to Gene, though, and then took it back after it was used by his twin), but found out something as I rummaged through the cupboards for one amid his protests.

—The Davis household seemed to have been cleared of all flatware. I couldn't even find one piece of wooden chopstick to alleviate my growing sense of disturbance.

* * *

><p>The week before the actual prom date, though, I noticed something about the twins.<p>

I didn't think it possible the first time, but was it possible that they were quarreling?

But of course, like Amy March, I kept silent and used my eyes, instead of asking anybody else. That would have alerted the gossip girls around the campus.

Naru was as cool to anyone as ever, but the way he cold-shouldered Gene one lunch break as I watched them from the quad, which was to pass by Gene without any sign of having seen his brother half-raise a hand, was a bit too much of a give-away.

I saw Gene look after his younger brother wistfully.

What was going on between them?

Well, I was sure that it wasn't anything good, at least.

* * *

><p>I waited for Gene by the door of his classroom when school finally let out, and when I saw him stroll out of the doorway, I immediately grabbed the collar of his jacket and marched him toward the stairs and down to the entrance hall, ignoring his loud protests.<p>

"What the hell were you doing?" he snapped, very contrary to his usual gentle nature, when I finally released him. We were now standing under a tree in the quad. The soft rustling of the leaves overhead made up for the lack of background noise, since no one was straying around the grounds at this time of day.

I glared at him and snarled, "Maybe you should be the one to start talking about what you two are doing. What happened to you two? You were fine with talking to each other only last week! And now, you show up at school and ignore each other? Come on, Gene. Only the blind guys are the ones who wouldn't tell that there's something up!"

"It's nothing," he said shortly, and I immediately knew that it was the opposite. Gene was the worst liar that I've ever met. Really, I promise you.

"You're lying," I told him firmly. "Will you cut it out and talk to me? You're acting like an eight-year-old kid."

He glared at me with irritated blue eyes, and we stared at each other angrily until he finally gave up his expression and smiled, a sorrowful smile that wrenched my heart. "You know, maybe you're right," he finally said, fiery blues turning to melancholic azures. "I'm acting like some spoiled kid. And the ugly truth is, maybe I really am one." He covered his face with his hands and sighed. "I had a shouting match with Mum last night. She caught me preparing to sneak off to Nakano's house." Nakano—maybe one of his teammates?

I groaned inwardly. Sometimes, Gene can be such a harebrained moron. I also would never have dreamed of shouting at my own mother. But maybe it's according to how you were brought up and to your personality? "And?"

"And Noll took Mum's side, got angry at me—just imagine that?—and we ended up exchanging some really nasty words. I even called him a stuck-up sissy." He raised his head and smiled at me wearily. "So I stormed out of the house and had a kip over at Nakano's anyway. I was ashamed of myself for doing that, but I would still have done it if it was to happen all over again. I was like, Hell, I'm not a law-abider, and I'm not going to start being one now." He laughed halfheartedly, and stopped abruptly before dropping his head. "It probably drove Noll crazy looking for me last night. And now he's not talking to me."

"Hey…" I said with a worried glance. This matter might not be as simple as it seemed at first glance, after all…

"You know what, Mai?" he said softly. I was thanking my stars that I haven't decided to talk to him in a more populated place. "I shouldn't've did that suicide thing. I was stupid. No, worse. I—"

"Shh," I said soothingly, moving over to stand beside him and rub his back.

And so we stood there, Gene looking at his shoes and a hand covering half of his face, and I immediately knew that I was witnessing, maybe for the first and last time in my life, how the tears escaped the indestructible Eugene Davis's eyes.

* * *

><p>I left Gene in my apartment looking like a lost puppy, his knuckles white against his pant leg as he sat on the divan, blank eyes watching the wall clock opposite him tick out the seconds. I debated for a moment whether I should trust him to be left on his own devices since he looked so down, but made a compromise and hid all the sharpest items in my bag before shutting it deep in my closet.<p>

I then proceeded to cycle my way to the Davis residence as the sun set, determined to sort whatever problem they had. I know that I may seem like a hopeless busybody, but looking at Gene's present state of mind (really, you should've seen him look as if he was ready to drown himself when I gave him a glass of water earlier), I really doubt that he'll come up with an idea so that he can talk to his brother more properly.

I was received by Naru, whose eyes looked like chips of dark ice when he saw me standing on their doorstep. However, I forewent any kind of pleasantry, instead launching into the topic that disturbed me without so much as a single polite "hello". That was the rule whenever you talk to Oliver Davis. Do not ever attempt to reason to him when you engage him in serious conversation. Instead, cut off all his lines of communication and blurt all your arguments out before he can demolish your brain cells. It's more efficient that way, since he's too busy thinking up of a counterattack to even bother complaining about your lack of manners.

"Gene was wrecked from your argument last night," I told him bluntly. _Mai 1, Naru 0._

He didn't budge an inch, his face half-lit by the gas lamp affixed on the doorway. The other half of his face was bathed in darkness. "If we have a problem, Taniyama-san, it's not your place to be our mediator. Gene'll come around and so will I. It's natural." _Mai 1, Naru 1._

"But what if Gene can't?" I countered him, glaring into those sharp eyes that I've admired so much. "He was just mending from that suicide attempt that he had undergone, wasn't he?" I know that a vase may withstand the first drop, but it will never hold when it is dropped the second time around. Law of nature. "How can we know that he'll come around? Especially now that you know how dissatisfied your brother is with himself?" _Mai 2, Naru 1._

I just noticed that he was holding a slightly steaming teacup in one hand, its slender porcelain handle held by slim porcelain fingers. At that moment, I realized that these people were made out of material that may seem pretty and strong, but can actually crack given the right amount of force and heat. At that moment, Naru was just like that teacup—pale, pretty, and infinitely fragile.

Our eyes met in one stretched-out moment, and he sighed and closed his eyes for a fraction of a second before stepping down and joining me in his own doorsteps. I sat down on the broad steps, while he continued to stand up, teacup in his hand, staring out into the dark. The door closed behind him, leaving us with only the weak light of the gas lamp behind us for illumination.

_Mai wins_. See? Easy as pie.

He broke the silence first, which was rather unusual for him. "He's just so stupid to even go as far as kill himself. Couldn't he see? Even if the world goes against him, he shouldn't raise his voice to somebody who doesn't deserve to."

"Gene is by nature a rash person," I told him softly, twisting the hem of my sweater to have something to busy my hands with. "You can't tell him to stay put in one place, because that's how he was made." I looked up at him. His face was hidden by shadows. "You're his twin. Surely you should be the best judge of his behavior."

He let out a soft snort. "That's why I don't try to judge him. He's too unpredictable to base upon a single pattern."

I sighed. "Then why judge him now?"

He became completely silent, the mouth of the teacup held at his bottom lip, and with so much emotion that I couldn't have known would exist behind that icy exterior, he raised the arm holding the teacup and flung the porcelain to the ground violently, startling me as the crash of the material against concrete sounded like a gunshot in the silence of the darkening neighborhood. I jumped up and studied his face with some alarm, and saw that his face was showing signs of extreme conflict before settling into a frown.

"There, I'm finished being angry over his childish behavior last night," he said fairly calmly, watching me. I stared back at him incredulously.

"Er, really?"

"The only thing that you can count on Gene for is his anger. Terrible, but over in just one flash. He finds it easy to forgive someone." Naru crossed his arms and released a shivering breath. "But I'm not like that. I don't go around beating anyone who I am angry with. But I do hold grudges, and I hold them for a long time."

I continued to scrutinize him carefully, and his expressionlessness never disturbed me as much ad it did now.

He watched the barely-recognizable crushed remains of the teacup on the pavement, and then eyed the trail of tea trickling away from our direction like a shiny liquid serpent. "But if there is an exception to every rule, maybe this is it." He glanced at me. "Taniyama-san, could you please send that idiot back home right now before he finds something to stab himself with? I would have called at your house myself, but I didn't know your address."

…So I really didn't have to come over, eh~

"Don't worry," I said as I shrugged my jacket off. "I hid all my knives before I left. How did you know he was going to stay with me, though?"

He just shrugged.

"Ugh, fine. If you don't want to answer." I flung one leg over to the other side of my bicycle and held it steady. "So, um, see you, I guess. At the prom."

He smiled, a slight, mysterious smile that made my heart pound. "Have you ever noticed what is almost always left behind whenever heat is applied to a chemical reaction?"

What was he trying to tell me?

* * *

><p>The morning of the prom dawned bright and early. Luella had wanted to come over to make me up herself that afternoon, but I had been adamant on that one point. So now, Michiru, who had a pressing appointment at roughly the same time as the opening of the prom and was therefore unable to come to it, had volunteered herself to help me dress.<p>

"The prom's not until five, right?" Michiru asked me as I emerged from my room, my heels clutched in one hand as I stumbled uneasily to the divan in my living room. I let her do everything, even going so far as to iron my flyaway hair. She was so able with the cosmetics that when she finally finished and showed me the mirror, I cam hardly recognize myself.

"Wow, my hair actually followed the iron," I said in disbelief as she chuckled at me. "Maybe I should get myself a rebond one of these days…"

"Don't," Michiru sighed. "I don't really recommend rebonding to your hair. Maybe just stick with the flat irons—rebonding will mess up your hair 'cause it's dyed."

"Really?" I frowned at the girl on my mirror. She frowned prettily back. "I guess I'm stuck with my flyaway hair then…"

"Don't frown, just go and dress up already," Michiru admonished me as I quickly slapped the mirror down on the table. "You've barely thirty minutes left to prepare, and I'm sure Oliver'll pick you up early…"

I groaned. "I totally forgot that he was supposed to pick me up…"

Michiru giggled. "What? Come on, if my boyfriend had been that gorgeous, I'd never forget him. Not that I'm complaining," she added conscientiously, since she already had a boyfriend. He's not from the same school as us, though.

"He's not even my boyfriend," I griped with bad grace.

"Sure, sure," she said, bored. "Dress up now. I'm excited to see how you look."

I obligingly put on my dress, and she admired it as I put on my shoes in my living room.

"You're very pretty," she said approvingly, "and your bangs are absolutely the best if you clip them to the side. They really complement your face…" And even as I walked around the room nervously, trying to use myself to the height of my heels and clutching my white purse against my chest, a polite rapping sounded on the door, making Michiru squeak. I quickly rushed to the door, almost tripping on my shoes as I pulled it open.

He was really there, elegance personified, as he stepped on my doorway, again very dapper in an all-black tuxedo. His blue eyes scrutinized my appearance critically before giving me a white rose that he was holding in one gloved hand. I noticed with some envy how neat his hands look in them.

"You look nice," he complimented me politely, without any hint of sarcasm (does that mean that he's sincere, though?), and I blushed hard under my foundation.

"T-Thank you," I returned, taking the rose carefully from his grasp and smiling with an excited fervor as I turned to look at Michiru, who had all but actually fainted on my living room floor. "Er—"

"We'll leave now," Naru interrupted me not impolitely while turning to look at Michiru.

"Of… of course," my friend said with a quick blink. "Take care of her, Davis-senpai…"

"I will," he promised, and turning to me, he told me the following words, spoken in a very different manner compared to the last time that I heard them from those perfect lips:

"Follow me."

How… _nostalgic_.

He led me gracefully outside to the crisp coolness of the afternoon air, my heart fluttering irrationally as his hand grabbed mine and pulled me after him.

* * *

><p>I presumed that the twins had sorted things out between them all by themselves by the way they naturally gravitated to each other when Naru and I stepped into the entrance hall, where the seniors and some select juniors were already milling in. With a grin and a swift movement, Gene approached us, dressed in the same all-black as Naru.<p>

"Hey, where's Mai?" was his first quip, making Naru smirk. I smacked Gene on the shoulder with my bag. "Ow, so there you are! I didn't recognize you at first…" He looked at me closer and poked my hair. "Is this real?"

"You—" I punctuated my exclamation with another smack of my bag on his shoulder. He seemed to be light years away from the Gene that I had confronted just a day ago.

He just laughed, and turned to tell Naru, who was wordlessly watching us bicker, "You, sir, should definitely be my first dance in the carnet later."

"Dance with the girls first," Naru said in utter disbelief. "You really do hit on everything with two legs, huh? I thought they were joking when they first told me."

Eugene smiled, a devilish grin that made me rather cautious. "That honor was reserved only for you." He eyed me. "And I seem to have offended your partner by suggesting such a thing. Well, just save any dance for me, then."

"Er, knock it off, will you?" I said with a roll of my eyes. The moron who first thought that twins are adorable is nuts. I can only imagine what tantrums they must have thrown together as children.

"Well, here you are," Gene said gaily, and produced another white rose to accompany the one that Naru gave me. "Twins. For luck."

"Thank you," I told him sweetly. "I didn't know that you're that superstitious, though."

"I'm not," he grinned. "But it never hurts to believe."

The admission was quite slow, since everyone's invitations must be checked first. I waited patiently beside Naru as he gave his invitation card to the prom committee member stationed beside the auditorium doors.

"She's with me," Naru said shortly when they looked at me. They nodded, and let us through.

I was struck dumb by the transformation of the auditorium. I'm not quite used to describing something, so let's just say that walking in the newly decorated hall was like entering a frosted cake. There were tables all around the place, while the stage was decorated with white lilies fit to overkill. I was getting a bit high just feeling the warmth of his hand enclosed mine. The silk of his black glove was the only thing that prevented me from actually feeling his skin against mine.

We stood in a corner for a while, both of us too shy to actually socialize with the others. Although, maybe it wad natural reticence in his part more than actual shyness. I just saw him as someone who has more grit than your average adult.

"It's starting," he suddenly said, and I blinked up at him. Did he notice that I was gawking at him?

"What?"

The lights went off one by one, and the white light of the crystal chandelier hanging at the center of the ceiling dimmed to a low blue.

The students assembled all went "ooh" at the display, and I found myself watching the chandelier dreamily as the principal delivered the opening remarks. Beside me, Naru wasn't listening too—he was busy watching the crowd, maybe looking for his brother. I swept my gaze from him and continued to peruse the decorations.

The afternoon passed by too quickly—and soon it was evening. I ate a little of everything on the buffet, while Gene and Naru ate out of one plate since Gene was averse to the idea of falling in any line. I did notice from past experience that he was not the most patient person in the world, preferring to lead a mischief instead of just joining in it.

Ha ha.

"_C'est merveilleux_," Gene purred as he finished off the plate. Naru smiled wryly and pushed the plate back.

When the tables were finally cleared, Gene smiled and pulled off his partner, a senior girl whom I didn't much recognize, to who-knows-where, leaving Naru and me to look at each other and smile weirdly.

"Are they together?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"I'm not my brother's keeper any longer."

The emcee announced the beginning of the carnet, and the music started. I was rather relieved that the beat was moderately slow for the first dance, and with a smile, Naru held out his hand to me.

"Shall we?"

I nodded and we linked our hands together, the warmth of his skin against mine. I had noticed that he had removed his gloves before the dinner. Maybe he had forgotten to put them back on again? But why was I thinking about it, for goodness sakes?

We slow danced like a couple of extremely awkward teenagers and watched the other couples bemusedly. Naru had a subtle hold around my waist and was the one steering our direction, but I didn't complain much. It was easier that way since I really didn't know how to dance.

We looked at each other and I smiled at him.

"How are you today, Taniyama-san?" Naru asked me with a smirk.

"Oh, don't start ruining the mood."

"Really, I was just asking."

We bantered for the rest of the song, and when I sensed the end, I couldn't help but feel as if I was cheated my little moment of heaven.

Gene smiled at me with angelic grace, though, as Naru handed me over to him and began warbling in my ear as we danced to the next tune:

"_What a cute young lady we have here! _  
><em>Your pure white fur is so lovely and superb! <em>  
><em>In this night with such a beautiful moon, <em>  
><em>would you like to play together with me?<em>

"_A cat can only live once, _  
><em>so it's all about having fun. <em>  
><em>Shall I tear that collar around your neck <em>  
><em>to pieces with my teeth?<em>

"_Being a stray is the best, nyan nyan nyan…!_ (just imagine his voice in this part, he does it cutely)  
><em>I steal fish to eat, chase after pigeons, <em>  
><em>and look down on the working humans from the roof, <em>  
><em>where I doze off into a light nap! <em>

"_You should be free, too, nyan nyan nyan!_ (again…)  
><em>I'll also introduce some great buddies to you<em>  
><em>Come now, open up that window, <em>  
><em>and leap right out!<em>"

I laughed as he paused for breath. "Show-off. You pull it off so well, all you need is a pair of cat ears to look the part."

"Care to sing the girl's part?" he asked me.

"No, I'm all out of breath already in these heels," I said with a quirk of my lip as we slowly revolved around the spot. "Besides, I'm just borrowing the part of a young lady tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll be ordinary Taniyama Mai again."

"I wonder if Taniyama Mai really is ordinary, though," he said with a smile as he jokingly grabbed me around the waist and lifted me up, making me clutch around his shoulders desperately. The guys nearest us were snickering, while their partners glowered at me.

"Hey!" I hissed at him in a low voice. He placed me back on the floor again. I was relieved that I was still mostly in one piece.

"Ordinary girls would've screamed," he told me, one gloved hand clasping mine again as we resumed the carnet.

"Okay, you've made your point, mister," I said, gritting my teeth. "Will you please _not_do it again, though?"

"Oh, I won't," he said graciously, donning his best gentlemanly air again, and the rest of the song passed without further incident.

The rest of the carnet went well, although I skipped the last five songs because of my heels. I found a seat in a corner and started fanning myself until the twins came and sat themselves on either side of me. Gene amiably gave me his untouched mocktail, while Naru watched the sea of lights on the floor. I was far too giddy and tired to bother talking to them, so the comfortable silence persisted until the actual closing of the prom.

Naru drove me silently to my apartment, while I was still feeling a bit overwhelmed in the experiences of the night. I took a deep breath as I felt the night air rush through the open windows. The moon stared at me passively as we sped through the streets. This time, I didn't mind the speed at which Naru maneuvered the car—actually, it even soothed me, since it made the pretty lights of Shibuya nightlife blur by me in an unceasing river of colors.

I was rather disappointed when he finally stopped the car outside my apartment building, but did my best to not show as it would have given him more reason to inflate his over-large ego. However, as he got out of the car and opened the passenger door for me, I couldn't help but wish that this night might never end. Gene was quite right—I was Cinderella this evening.

I checked my watch: 11:45 pm. Ugh. Fifteen short minutes before the metaphorical bell chimes.

I walked to the front of my apartment and smiled at him. "Thank you for the ride."

"It's nothing," he said, back to his emotionless self. "You should turn in for the night now." He made as if to go back to the car, but in a rush of adrenaline, I called out—

"Wait!"

"Wh—?" was all he could say before I had rushed over and given him a kiss on the cheek. Luckily, my heels had added quite a bit of height to my natural shortness, so I was able to pull it off easily.

"Good night!" I said with a healthy blush, and without a second glance to see his reaction, I rushed off to enter the apartment, trying to ignore the loud thumping of my heart.

"Did I just do that?" I screamed to my pillow when I threw myself to bed five minutes later, already undressed for bed and back to my own dowdy self.

My pillow refused to answer, though.

I faintly heard the clock's hands click into the twelve o'clock position as I completely passed out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**:

*huffhuff* My fingers just busted themselves off! Urghhhhhhhhh...

I dunno if this chapter was good to serve as is to you guys or what… I was strangling my brains for want of more explanations, but I then remembered, "Writers do not have to explain their work—they merely tell the story and leave the interpretations to the readers." Please review my work and tell me how you found it… I have many favorite scenes in this chapter, and I want to know if we have the same reactions (hehe) to those scenes!:)

I just remembered that Mai thinks that Naru's voice is 'gorgeous' in the third episode of the anime… And that is precisely what I wanted to tell Tai Yūki (~Naru's seiyuu, anyone?). He should enter singing! :)))) A pity JC Staff didn't think of releasing character CDs.

If Good Smile Company finally decides to do a Nendoroid figure for Naru and Mai, I'll really kill just to possess one, lol. D: It's still not possible in the present day, sooooo… I'll have to make do with my Azunyan and Miku Nendoroids…

Next chapter: _Final Reaction_!

* * *

><p><strong>Notes<strong>:

—Mai mentions something about putting on their _uwabaki_ slippers at the entrance hall of the school. Yeah, those are the white shoes that Japanese students wear before entering the school premises, usually placed in lockers in the entrance. Their leather shoes are also placed in those lockers as class commences.

—Shibuya is tagged as the Las Vegas of Japan because of its colorful nightlife. It's rather particularly very lively at night in Dōgenzaka, which you must remember is where the humble offices of SPR is located. :)

—Two is supposed to be very lucky in Chinese culture because the word 'two' is homophonous to 'easy' in Mandarin. When a woman gives birth to twins, it's supposed to introduce good luck to the family. :))))

—The song that Gene sang to Mai is the first four verses of '_Ah, It's a Wonderful Cat's Life_' by Kagamine Len for the boy part and Megpoid GUMI for the girl part. Look it up in YouTube. It's really a very lively song. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Give a poor writer an excuse to update. Review!<strong>


	4. Final Reaction

_**Nuclear Fusion**_

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT<strong>! Read this! DL, DR!

**Pairings**: Friendship!GeneMai.

**Genres**: Angst & Hurt/Comfort

**Disclaimer**: I will never own Ghost Hunt, 'kay? All rights reserved by all concerned parties.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Final Reaction<em>**  
><em>Taniyama Mai + Eugene Davis<em>  
><em>[in <strong>equilibrium<strong>]_

* * *

><p><em>The town is filled with brilliant light <em>  
><em>The chill of anesthetic ether <em>  
><em>2 am, and I can't sleep <em>  
><em>Everything is changing so fast<em>

_The lighter's out of oil _  
><em>The pit of my stomach is on fire <em>  
><em>If everything is such a lie <em>  
><em>Then it really would be better<em>  
><em>—<strong>Meltdown<strong>, sung by Kagamine Rin_

What with the constant comings and goings at the school, the weeks had almost literally flown past, and suddenly it was the first week of March. The seniors were already preparing for their earlier examination periods, while the undergrads had already resigned themselves to the toil of their bottomless schoolwork.

I was caught between the tide of those two, since the meetings between Gene and I were getting more and more strained. However, he had fallen into the habit of peppering my mobile with text messages, so maybe that balanced the equation a bit.

Wait, was I just talking Chemistry?

Well, I could get along fine in that subject now, to my utmost relief. While I was by no means the top student in that class, I was at least able to score better on the occasional quiz. Ha. That's Taniyama Mai for you!

"It's a bit sad, isn't it?" Keiko told me rather mournfully as we walked together to school. I was wheeling my bicycle alongside me.

"What?"

"That our dear senpai are finally leaving us," she sighed dramatically.

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Keiko, you should have won a best actress award for that sigh you just gave."

She scoffed. "Mai-chan, stop teasing, will you?" Then she smirked. "Oh, I see. It's because you and Gene-senpai are already so close, so that's why you were so complacent about it. Huh? Huh?" She nudged me playfully with her elbow.

"Shut up. I'm not in the mood." Honestly. I'm not. And they were all thinking that I'm romantically rather than platonically involved with Gene… Oh, the irony.

—Because I'm actually in love with another guy.

As we neared the gates, I distinctly saw the black figures of Gene and Naru also walking towards the scool, conversing about something.

Speak of the angel… and he shall appear.

Keiko shot me a meaningful look, but when she ascertained that I wasn't going to take the bait, she called out boldly, "Gene-senpai!"

"Keiko!" I hissed with wide eyes as the Davis twins turned around at the call, Gene's blue eyes smiling along with his lips as he saw Keiko and me.

"Good morning," he greeted Keiko. Then, with a wicked wink, he greeted me, "Morning, Mai-_chan_…"

_F-Flirt! _

I blushed hard, and Naru rolled his eyes sarcastically at the display.

"I—" I gulped and blinked, and lost my courage to greet 'him'. "Good morning."

Gene must've sensed my hesitation, since he threw me an incredulous look before laughing to himself. He didn't actually laugh, but his eyes looked it.

* * *

><p>That night, I was trying to finish my essay on William Shakespeare but ended up staring at Naru-chan's picture with me in the prom, which was tantalizingly placed in a frame before me on the desk. He looked so breathtakingly alive in the picture that I ended up touching the glass that protected it several times to make sure that it was indeed a photo.<p>

I looked at the clock and sighed. Ten-thirty? I must indeed learn to sleep early on schooldays…

I undressed for bed and flicked my study lamp off, bathing the room with a silvery darkness as I groped my way to the futon at the floor.

I closed my eyes, and was soon asleep…

—A sudden, persistent rapping sound on my bedroom window roused me from my slumber. I rolled over in my futon and opened my eyes…

…to see the shadowy figure of Eugene Davis perched outside my window. And did I mention that I was living in the second floor?

After blinking at him stupidly to ascertain that I was indeed not dreaming, I quickly stood up from the comfortable warmth of the covers to slide the window open.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed at him.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he said with a sad smile, as if that excused him from explaining further.

I controlled the urge to tear my hair out, and let him inside. He slid sinuously through the sill and set his feet down on the floor silently, so as to not alert anyone else. I silently thanked my stars for his discretion.

"It's not proper to visit a girl while she's sleeping, you know," I admonished him.

"Well, I can't wait to tell you something—it's… very important," he said with a bit of hesitation as I frowned and crossed my arms thoughtfully.

"Alright. Let's go to someplace where we can actually talk," I said bluntly, and he nodded with a rather melancholic air.

We strolled by the park nearest to my apartment and occupied the swings. I was still a bit sleepy, but I was quickly roused from the possibility of falling back to the confines of la-la land by the next words that Gene spoke.

"Maybe I haven't mentioned it yet to you because I've decided it a long time ago, way before we first met," he began.

I looked over at him, and noticed how downcast his eyes seemed to be.

"What was it?" I said quietly.

"Um." He cleared his throat first before continuing in a deadened voice, "We're, uh, moving back to England at the end of March. I—"

"_What_?"

The word had come unbidden to my lips, maybe at pure shock over the news. But why was I shocked, really? Shouldn't I have expected this a long time ago, that the twins aren't going to stay here forever? But maybe I had been so used to their presence in my life for the past months that I had forgotten it.

"W-Why?" I quickly remedied, seeing Gene's extremely guilty look.

"I'm going to apply at Cambridge, and it's rather big for Mum." He smiled his sad smile again. "Well, I do not really think that I'm up for it, but Noll gave me one single, very eloquent advice. It helped me a lot."

"And what was his eloquent advice?" I asked dutifully, waiting for his punchline.

"He told me, 'Grow up, Eugene Davis'." He laughed lightly, but his eyes still held something that didn't want to give in to the joke.

"If someone invented a car that runs on stupid jokes, you'd go far," I told him to quell the silence.

"I second the motion," he agreed, halfheartedly.

"Well," I swung myself for a few more moments. "I dunno if I should get sad or if I should be happy. I know that I should congratulate you with all my heart and not be selfish, but you know—there's a little bit of me that wants you to stay."

He smiled gently. "C'mon, Mai. I'll be back in no time at all. You'll barely notice the time fly, and soon you'll be the one getting all busy for your own graduation. And of course, I'll be there and I'll catch all of your embarrassing moments on camera." He smiled.

I smiled back at him. "Some friend you are."

"Yeah." He remained in silence for a few more moments before blurting out, "I'm taking up a program in chemistry."

"Really?" I snorted.

"Yeah. It was my best subject after all." He smirked, making me grin incredulously.

"And what about narcissistic Naru-chan?"

"He wanted to go to Edinburgh to study in the only college that offers a program in parapsychology there. Dad hadn't anything against it, although he was rather disappointed because he was expecting Noll to study law like him, but Mum went ballistic and told him that that was too unprofitable, so Noll shifted his sights on psychology instead so that we can both go to Cambridge together." Gene sighed. "For some reason, I think Noll still has plans of scramming, though. He might ship himself off to Scotland the moment we land in England and study there even with Mum's tantrums."

I smiled. "He loved the subject that much, huh?"

"Yeah. He's a psychic otaku." Then, as if suddenly struck by an inspiration, he added, "Oh, right. I got picked by my homeroom teacher to get up a speech in the graduation ceremony."

"Wow," I commented. "I'm not much surprised, though. I think they've decided this long before the arrival of March. You're just too popular to miss."

"I wonder," he said musingly. "I've already written my speech this afternoon. I'm going to polish it tomorrow morning before we go to the ceremony, though."

"I see." And struck by a sudden inspiration, I stuck out the little finger of my left hand and held it out to him.

"What's that?" Gene smirked, cheerfulness returning full force.

"Let's swear to be friends, for ever and ever."

"We don't need to swear. We're already friends."

"I'll be placated if we swear on this thing, though."

Gene rolled his eyes, but obliged me and helped me form the pinky-swear gesture. "And Noll called me the most childish teenager in the continent. Well, let's just see what he'll think once I tell him about this."

I shot him a glare. "Best friends forever, pretty boy?"

"Best friends forever, little miss." And we broke off with a burst of laughter.

* * *

><p>Graduation. A moment both sad and sweet.<p>

The realization that he was finally graduating, leaving behind the life that he had shared with me at high school, did not sink in until the morning of the actual day. Unconsciously my mind drifted towards Gene, feeling a bit of relief at the thought of his no longer having to endure the ridicule of our schoolmates. Leaving high school would surely be a good thing for Gene. He needed a change in scenery.

I jumped when someone knocked abruptly on my door, my eyes drifting towards the gunshot-like noises. I stood up and smoothed down my skirt nervously as I approached it.

Carefully I opened the door, my dark eyes widening in slight surprise to see Naru-chan standing before me, tense and as rigid as a statue. He nodded at me tersely, not even bothering to conceal his feelings, which was present in his body language in the form of a certain indefinable restlessness.

"Naru? What are you doing here?" I asked, honestly confused.

"Have you seen Eugene?" he asked, dark blue eyes narrowed at me as he got straight to the point.

My fingers lightly gripped the doorknob in confusion. "No. We haven't spoken all morning. Last I heard he told me he would be preparing his speech for tonight."

Naru's eyes showed a flash of disappointment that he quickly squashed, but I still saw it. I furrowed my brow. "Why? Hasn't he been at _your_ house?"

"No," he said shortly. "I haven't seen him ever since I woke up."

"I'm sure he's alright. He must just be under a lot of pressure to prepare for the ceremony," I tried to reassure him, wondering how much I was trying to put him at ease rather than myself as my heart started to dance in discord.

Naru didn't say anything as he shifted, eyes meeting mine slowly for a brief second, looking as if he wanted to ask me something, before it died. He gave a curt nod and moved to leave.

"Here's my number. Call me if you ever get to see him." And after leaving me a piece of paper torn from his notebook which he had written on with neat numerals, he sighed and went off. I watched as he vacated the premise as quickly as he'd come, something fluttering in my chest with nervousness. I slowly shut the door and leaned my palm against it, frowning in thought.

No, I am sure that Gene was fine. He was probably just writing his speech at the library or something.

I pushed aside that nagging voice in the back of my head, the one that told me to worry because Gene had been acting rather strange ever since he had visited me in the middle of the night last time. His extended silences…

I picked up my mobile phone to dial in Gene's number and began tapping my foot impatiently when the ringing continued for a long while. If Gene didn't pick up in the next five seconds I was going to–

"_Hey there! What's up?_"

I felt my whole body relax simultaneously as I let out a sigh. Just hearing Gene's cheerful voice washed away any remnants of worry that was rooted in my nerves. I wiped my hand down my face and leaned back against the door. "Gene? You scared the living daylights out of me! Why aren't you at your house right now? Naru-chan was looking for you! I meant, he must be worried sick. He didn't tell me, but he looked it…"

"_I see… Yeah, that's rather interesting._"

I rolled my eyes involuntarily. "Of course it's interesting! If your twin brother is this agitated over you getting up and disappearing to the library or somewhere, just imagine what your parents must be thinking. You should probably give them a call so they don't call the—"

"_Alright, chill. That's something to think about. Now, can you please repeat yourself again after the beep? I'm currently not able to get to my phone right now. I know, right? You probably thought you were actually talking to me… Haha, sorry! Just leave your name and number and I'll get back to you later. That is, as long as you're not someone named Oliver Davis telling me that Mum wants me to go home early again… Seriously, Noll. Not cool._"

I stiffened, staring at my phone with disbelief as Gene's usual infectious laughter filtered through before a beep resounded. Ugh. Of course I wouldn't put it past his mischievous side to make a message like that and lead people on. I put my cell phone up to my ear once more and took in an annoyed breath.

"Eugene Davis," I started calmly, but a well of frustration was rising in me by this time. "I won't say anything about your _ridiculously childish_ voicemail message, but I will ask you to please call me. Your twin stopped by a minute ago and I think it was about something important. Bye."

I hung up and plopped down on the divan with a heavy feeling in my chest that I shook off as I snuggled with a cushion. I tried to convince myself that Gene was fine. He was just very busy today.

I dully flicked through my Chemistry book, never truly reading the pages, for my mind was still on Gene. After thirty minutes I glanced at my phone again. With a great deal of thought, I again punched Gene's number in and waited.

"_Hey there! What's up?_"

I clenched my hand around my phone and flipped it closed.

Another thirty minutes passed and I tried again.

"_Hey there! What's up?_"

"Gene, you idiot," I grumbled in anxiety on my divan. I waited impatiently for the rest of the message to continue.

"_—ain… Seriously, Noll. Not cool._"

_Beep_.

"_Pick up your phone, Eugene Davis!_"

I hung up again.

Ten minutes passed and...

"_Hey there! Wha—?_"

_Click!_

Swallowing the anxiety growing in my throat, I slipped a jacket on, grabbed my keys and rushed downstairs to where my bike was chained outside the apartment building. I didn't pay any heed to my annoyed elderly neighbor on the ground floor as I pedaled off down the street, eyes skimming over the faces that I came across. A slight shower was falling, lightly drenching my hair and clothes as I rushed through the heavy traffic of Tokyo.

_You're jumping to conclusions_, my mind tried to reason. _What is wrong with you? You've never been this panicked before._

True, I had never been this worried over anything. I've always been "the strong orphaned girl", the type who's the last to fall and the first to get up, the one who never succumbs to petty attacks of anxiety. But I suppose that people always have one person in their lives that made them do unreasonable things. I had always had unwavering trust and affection for Gene ever since that day when I stood up for him and lied to his friends just to get him out of their mocking speculations about his suicide. He had only looked up at me with that shockingly lovely smile and those clear blue eyes, glad that I was the only one to never pry into his reasons for doing 'that'. Even after Gene had admitted that he had tried to commit suicide, I still never stopped on believing that he'll never do it again. So why now? Why now, of all times, did my heart beat faster as if it was about to explode as I looked for him through the rain?

I didn't have much time to think about it as I stopped at the library, checking every aisle and swearing under my breath when he was nowhere to be found. I launched myself back on my bicycle and pedaled to all the parks and places that we've hung out at times. He wasn't in any one of them.

He wasn't at the park where he'd first told me about Hara Masako and Naru. He wasn't in the movie theatre where we snuck in to the back and remained in the far back corner for the afternoon, never detected as we watched the same romantic comedy over and over again in a loop. He wasn't at Shibuya 109 where we always meet up, or in Meiji Park where he always accompanied me to watch other teenagers cosplay in public, or in the fast-food place where we'd treat each other occasionally. He wasn't _anywhere_.

I was already soaked to the skin as I again held my phone to my ear to call Gene, shifting over the three messages of Keiko and Michiru wondering where I was and that the graduation will start in less than an hour and a half. Frankly, I had forgotten that they were supposed to come with me as uninvited guests to the ceremony. I raised my eyes to the iron-gray sky as I stood under a waiting shed with my bicycle at my side.

"_—you later. As long as you're not someone named Oliver Davis telling me that Mum wants me to go home early again… Seriously, Noll. Not cool._"

I flinched slightly at the beep and bit my lip, my voice refusing to come out. I knew I was just breathing into the phone, but I couldn't bring myself to hang up. This was the only virtual connection that I had with Gene at the moment, and if I hung up then… maybe…

My breath came in a strangled hitch and tears began forming at the corners of my eyes. I must've looked totally pathetic to the people who saw me as images danced behind my eyes—images of bloody scissors, of razors and paperclips and knives and garden shears and… _and_…! My panic spiked and I gulped, shaking my head to clear the horrifying images out.

The rain was finally stopping.

"Gene…" I sounded so weak at that moment. Why was I torturing myself with those thoughts? He's fine. He… He is…

I let the tears fall some more and stared pleadingly at my phone, the sky clearing and the sun starting to set and paint the pavement with bloody colors that scared me like an omen. Graduation was in less than an hour.

"You— You _wouldn't_… right?" I whispered.

I heard the click from the speaker and a woman's voice, telling me that the allotted time for a voicemail was finished. Hesitantly, I hung up and remained motionless under the shed even long after the rain had stopped.

This was definitely not good.

After a long moment of feeling completely helpless, I again mounted my bike and started to cycle my way to the ceremony even when I was in no mood for any celebration. Something was too wrong in this scene that I haven't the heart to even think about celebrating.

Perhaps Naru had had a bit more luck in finding Gene, though? Plucking up heart, I nodded to myself and abruptly changed my direction to make my way up the Davises' street, hoping to see him and his family preparing to leave. The only car parked at the garage was Gene's, I noted with some trepidation.

I blinked nervously when I made out Luella Davis talking to a group of neighbors, looking absolutely distressed and lost as she gripped at her dress, her blue eyes large and red. Noll's car still wasn't there, and there was no sign of the twins' father.

Perhaps coming this way was the wrong decision.

As I made a U-turn to go back the same way I've entered, I looked up to meet Luella's eyes for a brief moment, the world holding its breath as her face smoothed out, the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes halting as she gave me the weirdest look that I had ever been given. It made me feel guilty for some reason.

I quickly turned away and freewheeled down the hill, feeling much worse than I had when coming up here.

Where was Gene?

My face was stiff and my hands were shaking as I passed the school gates. I looked at myself in every window that I pass, staring at the indescribable look on my face. Was it even possible to look so scared?

For the second time that afternoon, I wanted to skip the ceremony.

I wondered absentmindedly if the Davis family had called the police. Surely Luella would be in a fit of hysterics, afraid of going through what she had all those months ago. My hands closed into fists and I took a deep breath as I tried to convince myself.

Gene would never do that again, I told myself firmly.

Sure, he had been experiencing some unpleasantness from the students, and pressure was mounting with his mother, but disregarding all those, he was almost free.

One more day and he wouldn't have to deal with everybody anymore. He wasn't a crazy or unstable suicidal teenager. He's freakin' Eugene Davis. The only Spica among thousands of students.

He's just… _Gene_. My hyperactive best friend.

But what if Eugene was more than that? What if being unstable was part of what made my friend Eugene Davis? Coupled with a tendency to become reckless at times, Gene was a force to be reckoned with.

I shuddered and walked faster.

What was I thinking? I was doing what everyone else was doing. I was labeling him and thinking he was strange and a threat to himself and others. Just because he tried to take his life once didn't mean he would do it again.

I paused when I reached the doors of the gym where the seniors are assembled before the ceremony itself, which was going to be held in the quad.

—but it didn't mean that he wouldn't either.

I walked listlessly into the gym, hearing the graduation tune drifting with trumpets and drums over its expanse as the sun continued to set over the empty campus, giving it a somewhat lonely look. I stood, debating whether to go in to meet Michiru and Keiko inside.

I never wanted to get out of the school as much as I did now.

But with a long sigh, I decided to move for the gymnasium, knowing that the seniors were already assembled in there, waiting to be led out onto the quad where all of the parents and the rest of the faculty awaited, looking hopeful to wind up all of our years at this school with a nice diploma.

I had walked just a few steps when a movement to my right caught my vision and I froze. There across the grounds stood Gene, wearing his black school uniform and shutting the school library's door carefully, as if not to make a sound. I gaped at him as he glanced at the papers that he was holding and turned, eyes glancing up to pause at the sight of me, standing and staring at him like a complete idiot.

We stared at each other for a couple of moments before he finally grinned at me. "Oh, there you are Mai! I knew you'd come," he smiled and started towards me. I could only stare at him with my mouth open and blink. Gene raised a perfect eyebrow with a playful smile. "Er, what's up with that face? You look like you just saw a ghost or something…"

I continued to stare at him, when something snapped in me and I smacked him across the face, not very hard to raise a mark, but certainly not very soft either.

"Wh-where the hell have you been, you _idiot_!" I screamed, tears breaking free and streaming down my face unrestrainedly. Gene cringed at the slap I gave him and watched me with some alarm as I continued to sob.

"Mai? What do you mean? I was at school all day!" he said, looking panicked as I raised my arm as if I were about to punch him. I really considered it (reinforcing my un-girly side) as I seethed.

"School? Why would you be at school!"

"I had to write my speech," Gene quickly explained, holding my wrists to prevent me from hitting him again and dropping his speech in the process. "I told you that, remember?"

I grit my teeth and fumed, unsure of how to let these worried and scared and angry emotions out all at once. So he was really just at school all this time. The one place I didn't think of searching, and Gene…

I felt like I was the biggest idiot in the world as I stood there, breathing hard.

"Your family is worried sick! I think they called the police on you!"

"The police?" Gene's blue eyes narrowed with confusion. "Why'd they call the police?" he asked warily, his Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped at the thought of having the authorities on him again.

"They think you're _hurt_, that's why!"

Gene looked confusedly at me and I wanted to slap him again, if he wasn't holding my wrists so firmly. I broke free from his grip and threw up my arms, frustrated at how utterly idiotic this was making me feel. I was angry at him and at myself. I was angry at him for making me doubt him. And I was angry at me for even thinking of doubting him.

For one moment I was just like the rest of the school, and that fact slapped me hard across the face.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" I lashed back for want of a better argument. "I called you a dozen times and you _never_ responded!"

"The battery's dead," he told me, looking at me with those innocent dark blue eyes. I wanted to kill myself because of that look. It was bad enough I felt guilty now. "Why would I be hurt?" he continued. "Why would you all think I was hurt?" He looked skeptical and I couldn't say anything to get rid of that look on his face.

He finally fixed his eyes at me with a serious look. "Mai. Don't tell me you thought I was going to _kill_ myself?"

I flinched, and he instantly read me. With a shuddering sigh, he bent to retrieve his papers, which still lay on the ground, and turned away to began proceeding towards the gym, his black hair gently ruffled by the wind as it passed between us.

"Gene!" I screamed, shaking my head frantically.

He stopped and turned around, blue eyes very cold. If Naru held the title as one who could "outclass icicles" in his coldness, it was nothing compared to Gene when he was very, very angry. The elder Davis twin's blue eyes could outclass _tundras_.

"I thought you said that that didn't matter to you. You didn't care about what I did, and you didn't even ask me about it." His eyebrows drew together. "And now you're thinking that I was off killing myself because I went missing for a few hours? _Give me a break!_"

I didn't let my fear show on my face. Even though I was very much afraid of him for the first time. But, well, I was angrier. "Then what was I supposed to think, idiot!" I shrieked back, fed up with his insufferable idiocy. "You disappeared and didn't tell anyone where you were! Was I just supposed to sit back and ignore that you weren't answering anyone's calls and attend graduation without giving your whereabouts so much as a _single_ thought?"

"No! You're supposed to think that I'm not some suicidal psychopath!" he yelled back.

"I don't think you are one!" My voice trembled. It's true. I still don't.

"That's _strange_, because you thinking I'd go and slice myself up or throw myself down a ditch gives off quite a different impression!" he replied loudly.

Was I really the only person who hadn't thought he would jump off a ditch at any given minute? And why was this turning into a shouting match quite all of a sudden?

"I didn't think that at all," I said, lowering the volume of my voice as guilt washing over me.

"Quit fibbing, will you, Mai?" Gene snapped, turning his gaze upon the ground.

"I'm not lying," I insisted honestly, desperately, wanting nothing more than to just forget that this whole thing had happened. "I'm sorry. I was just—just worried about you. I'm sorry."

Gene bit his lip, knowing this fact to be the sheer truth. The band started to play louder in the distance, indicating that students were starting to be led out onto the quad.

"Really, truly, Mai?"

"Really, truly, Gene."

We stared at each other for a while, the weight of his graduation bearing down on us. When the light of the setting sun sent streaks of reds spreading on his hands like blood from an open wound, Gene flinched slightly. I glimpsed down to see my own hands looking as though they were coated with the same bright color.

"_Eugene-kun, what are you doing? Let's go! They're moving without you!_"

I looked across the grounds to see Haneda-san, Gene's homeroom teacher, waving quickly at us to enter the gym, haste written on her goodnatured face.

I let Gene go ahead of me, squatting down and putting my hands over my face as I thought of his words. What would I think if I was in his position? I think I'll get angry and hurt also. Wasn't that why relationships break? Because of a lack of trust? Was I losing my best friend?

"What are you waiting for?"

My head snapped up to look quickly at Eugene Davis's slight frown. Miraculously, he was standing at a distance, waiting for me.

"What—?" I sputtered. "Aren't you angry at me?"

He sighed. "Can't you see? I'm forgiving you." He shrugged. "Although if you insist, I will go on without you…"

I shot up quickly. "Are you serious?"

He smiled at me, making my eyes widen in relief. "I guess I can't stay angry at you for long. You're too important to me. And besides, we even pinky-swore. I have to fulfill that one or I'll have my pinky chopped off." He laughed lightly. "Just promise to trust me more next time, okay?"

"I— I—" As I stood there with a scrunched up face at an attempt to stop tears of relief from falling, something suddenly motivated me to streak off toward him and tackle him in a hug, my face buried in his shoulder as I sobbed into his immaculately ironed uniform. "Don't m-make me w-worry like that again t-then, idiot!"

I felt his arms tighten around me as he said softly, "Promise, I won't. I'm also sorry if I had caused you to worry."

And even as the music played out in the distance, the warm summer evening warming my face, we stood there like statues, both of us still stuck together as the red sun bathed our faces with bloody light.

I'm glad. I'm… glad.

Didn't Naru-chan mention something like this in the past? That Gene is very terrible when angry but that his anger tapers off very quickly? (I didn't know that it would be THIS quickly though… but I guess it depends…)

And also, that cryptic question of his…

"Have you ever noticed what is almost always left behind whenever heat is applied to a chemical reaction?"

Yes, I've finally noticed.

Forgiveness. Always forgiveness.

* * *

><p>"Good afternoon, guys," Gene began, now fully restored to his usual cheery self. I saw the students titter among themselves and smile back at him. A couple even waved at him. "Well, when Haneda-sensei asked me to have a speech ready for today's ceremonies, I was quite flabbergasted. And flustered. I haven't even attempted to write a serious line once in my entire life. And that's not even saying something." He held up his idiot papers. "I did prepare a speech as she had requested, and I even proofread it a thousand times before I was satisfied,"—and he sent a blazing smile at his twin, who looked back icily—"but now that I'm actually in front of you guys, I think I don't have to actually read these to you word for word, because let's all face it—I did not apply for the school paper because I have my reasons. Haha.<p>

"Well, it's kinda nice to be the one leading this batch out of high school, but also kinda heavier and harder. A lot of things are expected of me, and either I fulfill all of them or risk incurring the disappointment of the people who have put their unspoken trust in my capabilities. But, ladies and gentlemen, don't expect that I can handle everything. There are times when I also fail, times when I make mistakes. And you people, who are all thinking of your futures as citizens of one country, should learn to take everything one step at a time.

"Speaking of mistakes caused by too much multitasking, I have something of great importance to show to you. Please cover your eyes if you don't want to see them, but I'm warning you. They're pretty nasty to look at."

And saying thus, he raised his right arm and slid his sleeve down deliberately. I heard the collective gasp from the crowd, and I could say that I can sympathize with them somewhat, since this was the first time that I had come face to face with the wounds that Gene had inflicted on himself. Without bandages.

_They_ were horrible. _They_ were ugly. _They_ marred the smoothness of his porcelain skin, and I could guess that _they_ must've looked ten times more horrible when _they_ had been first opened.

He must have hacked those wounds open with the scissors, presumably in a fit of desperation, rather than neatly cut them in a calm manner. Even I, who had somewhat known what I might see, was stunned at the sight.

'_They_' were five jagged cuts running parallel to each other, now a dull brown from the scabs that had formed over them. But they didn't lessen the impact from the mere fact that those scars are indeed evidence of how Gene tried and failed to take his own life.

They were horrible. They were ugly. But every drop of blood that they had released tells of how Eugene Davis had desperately tried to defy the image that the status quo had assigned him… and lived to tell the tale.

"Popularity has its ups, but it's outnumbered by many downs, particularly the pressure of upholding the public's image of who I am in their eyes," Gene continued. "Why am I now confirming an issue that was already forgotten some time ago? It's because I do not wish to leave this school known as the boy who killed himself because he wanted his name on the news." He smiled, a different, mature smile that lifted the corners of my lips involuntarily. "I was burdened by many pressures this year, and that was when the idea of suicide entered my head. And the rest is history.

"Now, I leave this school with my head raised. Know that if there was a lesson that I had learned during these days of darkness, it was to keep a close friend by your side at all times." He inclined his head slightly to me, making me color up in embarrassment. "College is a bigger responsibility, guys. Don't try to crack before you must, or you'll end up like this. Well, whether you decide to go to university next academic year or not, please remember that true perfection is a myriad of countless little imperfections complementing each other." He nodded lightly. "So, again, this is Eugene J.A. Davis, or the Second Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, from Class IV-A." I smiled slightly at his reference. "Thank you, and good day."

And having said his last words in English, he bowed deeply to the upturned faces of his batch mates before him before going down the stage, and the applause was deafening.

It was a good day to smile and… just _live_.

* * *

><p>Unlike Western graduations, graduation ceremonies in Japan are shorter because diplomas are handed in one blow. So just a mere hour later, we were out of the school grounds, Keiko and Michiru watching us in puzzlement as Gene casually strolled up to me, his uniform unbuttoned at the top to show his white throat.<p>

"Hello," he greeted me breathlessly, holding up his diploma. "Finally out of hell. Forever."

"Congratulations," I told him feebly.

"_Gene?_" Naru walked toward us, displeasure clearly marked on his face as he gave his brother a smart cuff on the back of the head. Gene flinched, while some girls who saw the spectacle squealed at this bit of brotherly banter.

"_Ow! What was that for?_"—in English.

"_For making Mum and Dad worry about you, git,_" Naru stated calmly in the same language, while his eyes flashed dangerously. "_That was from Mum and Dad._" He cuffed Gene's ear. "_That was from me._"

"I love you too," Gene said enthusiastically, switching back abruptly to Japanese as he glomped his brother from behind. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm perfectly fine."

"Anyway, what were you thinking, showing your arm to them like that?" Naru said with a shadowy gaze as he swayed at Gene's added weight (yeah, the fangirls squealed again). His twin smiled sheepishly as he dropped himself to the ground.

"Well, I just admitted it to them," he replied, moving over to stand beside Naru. "I'm not going to see them ever again after today, anyway."

"Right," his twin sighed.

At this moment, I truly felt that the first hurdle was over.

The next was coming fast, though.

* * *

><p>Over the next week, I became increasingly distracted as vacation rolled by and discarded everything that I could do to make myself busy. I somehow knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't making anything better for me. I was still caught in the limbo of the period between when I still had Gene by my side and the period wherein I'll lose him.<p>

He met me the afternoon before his actual departure in the park where we talked about his Cambridge plans, and we stayed still on the swings for ten dragged-on seconds before either of us had a chance to say anything.

"So, I guess this is the final time in a long while that we'll ever get to hang out with each other," I tried to say, but when the last word came out, my throat stuck and I was speechless, the tears coming hot and fast down my cheeks. Gene was silent, but he finally got up and embraced me from behind in a comforting gesture.

"I'm going to write you every chance I get, silly," he said softly. I just gulped for a reply. "And a period of ten months is nothing. I'd be here just in time for your graduation, as I've said. I'll take time off if it's not enough and we'll get to see each other again. I mean, it's not as if we'll never meet again…"

"B-But—"

"Look," he interrupted me gently. "Did you remember that one time when I first tutored you in Chem?"

Yeah. Who wouldn't? That was my happiest _fangirl_ moment.

"Nuclear… fusion," he told me, smiling against my shoulder. "In order to break the barrier…"

"One must have the necessary requirements to do it," I hiccuped. "Yeah, I remember."

"See?" He smiled. "We're like two nuclei fusing together. Once we've come together, nothing can break us apart. Not even distance." He tweaked my hair. "You'll always be my best friend. Nothing can tear it away from us."

I nodded meekly at this, and he smiled in relief.

"Of course," I tried to bounce back, but my voice was too swept. "We even pinky-swore it, idiot. So you have to keep it."

He laughed, and it was during these times that I truly felt that the nuclear fusion between us was indeed successful.

* * *

><p>~<strong>Owari<strong>…?  
>[Jan. 2012]<br>—_Dedicated to my very own "Naru". :) I hope I may finally find the chance to tell you that I love you! /blush_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

This was VERY HURRIED. I very had limited time to type this out, so sorry for any wrong details that I might have missed.

_Tidbit_: Naru speaks English with an American rather than with a British accent. (To-may-to for the win.)

_Another tidbit_: Martin Davis is actually a professor of law in Cambridge, or as Naru had confided in Mai. :)

Could I aim for 25+ reviews? :) I'd also like to invite those who alerted but haven't reviewed a single time yet! Haha, you guys are awesome, and your reviews are as powerful as canon!Naru's PK! ;D

If we ever exceed that number, I'll go and upload a sneak peek to the sequel, which will become the next update. The full length of the sequel's pilot chapter will be uploaded in a separate story, of course.

The main focus of the sequel will wander on to NaruMai, LOL.:)))) Of course, Gene is still there, but he'll be shunted a bit to the side. lulz

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><p><strong>Character Files<strong> [_according to the Nuclear Fusion universe_]

_**Oliver E.C. Davis**_  
><strong>AKA<strong>: Naru/Naru-chan, Noll  
><strong>Birthdate<strong>: Sept. 19 (Virgo)  
><strong>Blood Type<strong>: A  
><strong>Height<strong>: 175 cm (5'9")  
><strong>Age in Nuclear Fusion<strong>: 19  
><strong>Notes<strong>: Naru had rather weak eyesight from childhood and is worsened because of his extensive reading, but this fact is rarely noticed because he never wears corrective lenses. He possesses an enormous mental capacity and is one of the top students in their batch, rivaled only by his own twin. He always shows an emotionless facade, which was always noted by Mai. He is also a strict vegetarian. He plans to take up psychology in Cambridge University, although he originally intended to study in Edinburgh College of Parapsychology, which was located in Scotland.

_**Eugene J.A. Davis**_  
><strong>AKA<strong>: Gene  
><strong>Birthdate<strong>: see above  
><strong>Blood Type<strong>: see above  
><strong>Height<strong>: see above, but debatable if there are discrepancies  
><strong>Age in Nuclear Fusion<strong>: 19  
><strong>Notes<strong>: The elder of the Davis twins, Gene acts as the opposite side to his twin's sarcastic and serious attitude, generally shown as an extremely playful and understanding character. Gene was the main focus of Nuclear Fusion due to his suicide attempt that stemmed from his mother's pressuring on him to attain better grades than his twin. Gene is highly intelligent but also too impulsive. He plans to take up chemistry in Cambridge University.

_**Taniyama Mai**_  
><strong>Birthdate<strong>: Jul. 3 (Cancer)  
><strong>Blood Type<strong>: B  
><strong>Height<strong>: 155 cm (5'1")  
><strong>Age in Nuclear Fusion<strong>: 18  
><strong>Notes<strong>: Her condition as a self-supporting orphan unknowingly became the reason why Naru and Gene admired her. She is a junior at the time of Nuclear Fusion. She is also the narrator of the story. She was also shown to be rather glad when she found out that Gene and she had the same views and opinions on life.

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><p><strong>About the Author:<strong>

_ringosatou17 _is in her last year of high school as she is writing this fic.

She is her own beta reader and worst critic, and mercilessly prunes the drafts she makes herself whenever her writer's instinct tells her that something is wrong with either the plot, the characterizations, or the grammar (she murders herself whenever she finds mistakes in her grammar, so she avoids butchering the language). She is very much like Naru in real life, very bookish and a psychic otaku (and that's the main reason why she dotes on that guy), although she enjoys listening to music (she is a VOCALOID freak) and playing RPGs.

She shares the same zodiac sign with the Davis twins.


End file.
